The European Commission defined entrepreneurship as “turning ideas into actions”. Different scholars and organisations defined entrepreneurship in different ways by proving that, there is no universally accepted definition for entrepreneurship.
An entrepreneur is a person who is involved in an entrepreneurial process. The most significant and valuable person to the world economy, is the entrepreneur. The entrepreneur plays a vital role in Sri Lanka. But the main issue is the unawareness of the people about entrepreneurship. Many people lack entrepreneurial characteristics, such as innovativeness, creativity, risk-taking and proactiveness. There are only a few entrepreneurs in Sri Lankan, but most of them are businessmen.
The education system plays a pivotal role here. We have a free education system. But we need to improve a practical education system instead of a theory-based traditional education system to link with international education platforms. Formal education starts from the age of four. From the age of four to 18, students are engaged in a theoretical learning culture. Even though there are some practical subjects, students are scared to study them due to their inability to take a risk.
The education system offers entrepreneurship education from grade 10 through the subject, “Entrepreneurship Studies”. But many students are not aware of the subject because the subject comes under the first group subjects and not under the common subjects.
According to statistics of the Department of Education in 2018, 296,192 students sat the (GCE) Ordinary Level examination for the first attempt. Among them, only 6,264 students sat for the entrepreneurship studies. Of these, 760 students failed the subject. The question is, how can we allocate marks to the entrepreneurship studies paper. How can we measure the innovativeness of a student using a theory based paper?
Only a few universities provide entrepreneurship courses to undergraduates. Undergraduates also try to become job seekers rather than job creators.
It is essential to provide entrepreneurship education from the birth. The spirit should come from childhood because entrepreneurship is not a subject but a mindset.