Relevance of Business Education Curriculum to the Needs of the Nigerian Digital Economy

This study examined the relevance of the Business Education curriculum to the needs of the Nigerian digital economy. Nigeria rapid digital transformation, driven by the fintech boom, e-commerce growth, and increasing adoption of digital payment systems, has created new demands for workforce competencies that traditional business education curricula may not adequately address. This study sought to evaluate stakeholder perceptions of the alignment between what is taught in Business Education programmes and what the Nigerian digital economy requires. A descriptive survey design was adopted. The population comprised 300 final year Business Education students, 60 Business Education lecturers, and 40 industry practitioners drawn from universities in Lagos, Abuja, and Enugu. A multi-stakeholder validated questionnaire on curriculum relevance was used for data collection. Mean and standard deviation were employed for analysis. Findings reveal that while the curriculum covers traditional business and office management competencies adequately, it significantly underemphasizes digital marketing, e-commerce operations, data analytics, cybersecurity awareness, and fintech literacy. Industry practitioners reported the widest perception gap, noting that graduates are ill-prepared for digital economy roles. The study recommends an urgent nationally coordinated curriculum review process involving the National Universities Commission, industry representatives, and the Nigerian Communications Commission to redesign the Business Education curriculum with a stronger digital economy orientation. Keywords: Business Education curriculum, digital economy, curriculum relevance, Nigeria, digital literacy