PAS WINS BEST ASSADPAM 2019 CONFERENCE PAPER

Chancellor College continues to register enviable achievements in as afar as the academic prowess of its staff and students is concerned. In September last year, some members of the Political and Administrative Studies department won an award for a conference paper entitled “Public Administration Curriculum and Capacity of Public Servants towards achievement of SDGs.” This paper was co-authored by Dr Asiyati Chiweza, Professor Happy Kayuni, Professor Richard Tambulasi and Miss Yapikachi Msiska. It was presented at the Association of Southern Schools and Departments of Public Administration and Management (ASSADPAM) 2019 Annual Conference, which was held from 25th to 27th September at Centurion, South Africa. The theme of the conference was “A Call for Action: A Reflection on Tenants of Public Administration”. 

The award-winning paper drew from a tracer study of the University of Malawi’s Bachelor of Arts in Public Administration graduates from 2012 to 2016, and used this data to examine the extent to which public administration training can be transformed to achieve national development endeavours and support the implementation of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Among other things, the presentation highlighted how the Public Administration curriculum largely cherishes its theoretical orientation, is weak on practical elements, and deficient on other courses relevant to the achievement of national development aspirations.

The paper was presented by Miss Yapikachi Msiska and won Best Conference Paper for 2019. Dr Chiweza and Ms Msiska received the award which was presented by Hon Senzo Mchunu, South African Minister of Public Service and Administration.

Commenting on the award, Miss Msiska expressed excitement to be recognized at such an auspicious international conference. “I am particularly proud that we got to put Chancellor College on the map,” she said.