Perhaps it is time for sarkaari babus to go back to school. In an ostensible effort to groom civil servants, the government is planning to set up a National Centre of Governance that will train bureaucrats in public administration, management, public relations and customer relations. An inter-state ministerial council, chaired by the prime minister, has appointed Hyderabad-based Centre for Good Governance to prepare a draft report on this project. “We have already submitted our preliminary report to the council. The new centre will require Rs 500-crore investment,” said a senior official of the Centre for Good Governance.

According to him, the Andhra Pradesh government has already earmarked 200 acres for setting up the school. “However, we are yet to receive any response from the Centre,” he added. The school of government, proposed on the lines of the Kennedy School of Government and the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, will offer an MBA in public governance and administration. “Given the size and importance of India and the issues it is struggling with during its transition from a closed economy to a market-oriented economy as it meets new challenges, training in modern public policy analysis and management is crucial,” he added.

There is a growing recognition that new types of leaders and leadership must emerge who can function both as managers and decision-makers. “Unfortunately, our civil servants lack managerial skills. None of our business schools, including QMs and ISB offer any full-time masters programme.”

Source: The Economic Times

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