A critical analysis of public administration training/education at the University of Malawi: struggling, stabilising or striving ahead?

Public administration, especially in developing countries, has gone through several challenges. Unlike other fields of study, theory building and empirical research in public administration, to a large extent, almost disappeared after the 1970s when international donors removed public administration from the priority agenda for technical assistance. Due to several problems such as corruption and lack of professionalism, the public sector was no longer considered as the correct vehicle for national development in developing countries.

This study aims to analyse the relevance of public administration training and education in the University of Malawi (UNIMA) - Political and Administrative Studies Department. The paper examines the relevance of the training under not only the international governance ideals but also by comparing the courses offered by UNIMA against those offered by other universities in the region. It draws its conclusions, in relation to relevance, from responses of graduates as well as employers regarding whether what they learnt is meaningfully being applied in the work environment.

Through interviews the paper finds that the programme has absorbed the central tenets of current public administration education and training which promote professionalism. Public administration graduates are now becoming relevant to not only the public but also NGOs and the private sectors. The study also finds that the UNIMA public administration programme, despite its shortfalls, is offering a programme that is relevant in relation to international paradigm changes, workplace needs and programmes offered in the region.

Based on the views of the respondents the following is a summary of the suggested way forward:

• there should be a deliberate attempt to bring on board some streams that target particular jobs like those in the NGO sector - this sector is equally an important employer
• the programme is crucial to Malawi’s development agenda, consequently more research is needed so as to ascertain specific needs of all the major stakeholders
• taking into consideration that there are many people in the public and other sectors doing administration yet they were never trained in this discipline, short courses and mature entry programmes should be introduced to sharpen the skills of these individuals.