Public Administration Master

Course Details :   

The Master of Public Administration (MPA) program is based on a needs assessment of the transversal knowledge requirements of executive level officers of the public service. Most public servants belong to a transferable service. They have to, therefore, acquire transversal knowledge, which could hold them in good stead in any assignment. Such knowledge has to be reinforced by institution-specific knowledge but the former facilitates creative application of the latter. The MPA program caters to the transversal knowledge requirements.

The course content flows from the concept of the new public service paradigm, which has development promotion as it’s principal function. The other aspect, which is the service delivery function, is mostly subsumed in the development function; yet a few course modules have been introduced to address separately some of its specific issues. The focus of the course structure, one might observe, is heavily weighted in favor of planning: macro, sectoral and project. That is because the principal instrument of performing the development function is planning, which also includes progress monitoring and impact assessment. A novel course delivery system is adopted employing techniques of blended learning, combining distance education with the traditional 'face-to- face' method. The main reason is that busy public servants cannot be away from their work desks too long, and must be able to follow lessons when time permits. They also work in different geographical locations. As a result, the traditional classroom lecture based method becomes very restrictive. Yet, group learning has many advantages, since it allows cross-fertilization of ideas and promotes creative learning. This is the rationale of the blended learning methodology that is adopted in the course delivery system under the MPA program.