New deal gives public servants a chance to study

By PETER WARI
Divine Word University has agreed to offer Bachelor and Master in Public Administration programmes to public servants.
This was announced on Friday when the Department of Personnel Management and Divine Word signed an agreement for the courses to be offered.
The agreement continues a collaboration between the university and the country’s public service capacity building needs.
The department’s acting secretary, Taies Sansan, said three batches of public servants – from national departments, provincial administrations and hospitals, a total of 72 participants – were involved in the two programmes.
She said the programme was being funded under the public sector workforce development programme at a cost of K576,220 for two years in a flexible learning arrangement.
She said in a semester the participants were required to be on campus for two weeks and all cost were met under the programme, except travelling allowances and airfares, which
were met by the participating agency.
“The policy research and skills development division of DPM is coordinating the fourth batch with 14 awards for the bachelor’s programmes and 10 awards for the master’s programme,” Sansan said.
“The main target for the programme is to build the capacity for the provincial administrators and chief executive officers of district development authorities.”
Divine Word president Cecilia Nembou said that in a conversation with former university president Fr Jan C’zuba, Pacific Institute of Leadership and Governance and the former secretary for DPM, they discussed the challenges and the need for capacity building in the public service.
“We want to enhance our partnership further and make them more productive,” she said.
“We are very keen to develop partnerships with other private clients but our biggest client is the state.”