Department of Public Administration

The Department of Public Administration, Panjab University, Chandigarh organized fourth lecture on “The Academic Status of Public Administration as a Discipline: A Critical Study” as part of the ‘Public Policy: Theory and Praxis’ series by Dr Sujata Singh, Senior Fellow, ICCSR and formerly Professor, Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi. Dr Bharati Garg, Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, Panjab University, Chandigarh introduced the speaker.

Professor Sujata began her lecture by sharing her insights on the status of Public Administration in the United States. She opined that spoils system prevalent in the US acted as a key stimulus for Woodrow Wilson, popularly known as the father of Public Administration, who later also became the President of the US, to call for systematic inquiry for a separate discipline of Public Administration. The growth of the discipline in US has been impressive. The discipline has carved its niche as a degree in Public Administration and it continues to attract scholars from other social sciences stream and stakeholders actively participate in the formulation of curricula making it ever relevant. The Indian experience, however, looks starkly different from the US. The constitution of Indian Institute of Public Administration, New Delhi on the recommendation of Paul H Appleby was primarily for the purpose of promoting research and career in the discipline of Public Administration. However the discipline, could never achieve such success as was the case in US. The inward looking approach in formulating curricula while ignoring global trends in the discipline has made the subject less relevant. The lack of interest of the public universities in starting up courses on public administration has also constrained the growth of the discipline in India. Innovative teaching pedagogy, relevant curricula and research are the way forward for making the discipline ever relevant.

The lecture was followed by active participation from faculty members, researchers and students. Dr Navreet, Chairperson, Department of Public Administration, Panjab University, Chandigarh proposed the vote of thanks.