Policy-Driven Entrepreneurship Education and Student Intentions: Evidence From Pakistan’s Higher Education Reform

Entrepreneurship education is increasingly used as a policy instrument to foster entrepreneurial ecosystems in developing economies. This study examines the associations between Pakistan’s Higher Education Commission (HEC) 2023 Undergraduate Education Policy, which mandates entrepreneurship courses, experiential learning, and Business Incubation Centers (BICs), and students’ entrepreneurial intentions. Drawing on Human Capital Theory, the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB), and Policy Diffusion Theory, a cross-sectional survey was conducted with 600 final-year undergraduate students from public and private universities. The Entrepreneurial Intention Scale, grounded in TPB, was used alongside measures of entrepreneurship course exposure and BIC engagement. Regression and structural equation modeling (SEM) results indicated that completion of an entrepreneurship course (β = .31, p < .001), BIC engagement (β = .28, p < .01), and participation in a capstone (β = .21, p < .05) were positively associated with entrepreneurial intentions. Among TPB constructs, perceived behavioral control (β = .35) and attitude toward entrepreneurship (β = .34) were the strongest predictors, while subjective norms (β = .26) also had a significant role. BIC engagement partially mediated the relationship between course completion and entrepreneurial intention (indirect effect β = .19, p < .01). The model demonstrated good fit (CFI = .95, RMSEA = .045). Findings suggest that policy-mandated entrepreneurship education is positively associated with entrepreneurial intentions, although this association appears stronger when accompanied by institutional support and mindset-related factors. This study contributes to the international literature by showing how top-down reforms, institutional capacity, and student psychology are linked within a developing-country context.