Public Policy Education

Although excellent public policies promote economic progress, there is minimal interest in public policy education in India.

Government policies are critical in determining a country’s future.
Effective public policies promote economic growth and public welfare while making life easier for citizens.
In India, however, there is minimal interest in public policy education.
Only a small minority of policymakers – civil service personnel — receive formal public policy and management education.
Both public policy and public administration are called “public management.”

After Independence
- Following independence in 1947, the Indian economy suffered from poverty, unemployment, low national income, agricultural stagnation, and other problems.
- India adopted a mixed economy, with socioeconomic development as the primary goal of public policy.
- Five-year plans centred on industrial and agricultural growth.
- Originally, the five-year plan prioritised agricultural growth, while the second FYP prioritised heavy industrialisation.
- Together with them, planning focused on defence spending, public development spending, exports, rural development infrastructure, social infrastructure, and so on.

Economic inequality
- Despite rising national wealth, economic inequality has increased.
Social injustice
- The public sector has failed to meet its goal of “economic growth with social justice.”
Unemployment
- ‘Jobless growth’ has been observed in India.
Slow growth in the production sector
- The stagnant sector contributes only 16% of GDP and employs only 12% of the workforce.
Standard of living
- On the Human Development Index, India ranks 131st out of 189 countries; this is one of the markers of a low standard of living.

Insufficient formal education in public administration compared to business administration education.
Just 130 public, private, and not-for-profit universities and 29 institutions provide public administration and public policy programmes.
Because little employment is available for persons who complete such courses, institutions do not offer many public management programmes.
As a result, neither educational institutions nor students see any reason to select public management courses.
Before joining the service, very few civil servants had any experience with public management.
There are also a few possibilities for in-service officials to study public administration in India and overseas.

Reduced fragmentation: Appointing fewer secretaries will help to lessen fragmentation.
Decentralising implementation authority and decoupling policymaking and implementation.
Increasing information flow from outside the government and integration.
“Policy Advisory Group” brings together many skills and considerable expertise in law, business, economic policy, and social policy.
Selected top civil servants with diverse experience and a generalist approach can provide practical insights.
Academics with experience in the topic can provide industry-specific and technical knowledge.

Before entering the civil service, civil officials receive formal education in public management.
In creating a chance or incentive for universities and private institutions to offer the topic at the graduate or postgraduate level.
Pupils become better citizens as well as competent managers in the business sector.
The government’s existing training institutes should include a larger public policy component in induction training.
To provide new work opportunities for graduates of public policy programmes, the government can develop specialised roles for public policy analysts.

Pic Courtesy: Manav Rachna

Content Source: The Hindu