Received: 01-Jul-2022, Manuscript No. JEAM-22-72693; Editor assigned: 04-Jul-2022, Pre QC No. JEAM-22-72693 (PQ); Reviewed: 18-Jul-2022, QC No. JEAM-22-72693; Revised: 25-Jul-2022, Manuscript No. JEAM-22-72693 (R); Published: 01-Aug-2022, DOI: 10.15651/2465-7204.22.8.008
It is impossible to overstate the importance of African universities educating students in Public Administration (PA) in order to meet the evolving demands of the public sector. Aligning Public Administration (PA) training with public sector needs will help alleviate the current skills mismatch plaguing Africa's public sector, particularly where previous research has identified politics, bureaucracy, and public policy as concepts that African undergraduate students studying public administration struggle to understand.
In order to meet the industry's demand for a more qualified workforce, increasing the number of institutions teaching public administration is insufficient. It is critical for each African country to enrich public administration training to meet industry needs in order to produce a relevant workforce. This cannot be accomplished without investigating whether or not students are underperforming in their comprehension of concepts taught in African universities, as well as the relationships that influence these difficulties. Many factors have contributed to Africa's poor performance in public services. Other authors have identified a variety of factors that influence the performance of Africa's public sector.
Reduced pay scales and perceived disparities in salary structure, as asserted, foster a culture of absenteeism, rent-seeking, employee involvement in alternative employment, and low productivity in underperforming organisations, particularly in the public sector. In contrast, high performing public sector organisations were found to have effective and motivated leadership capable of nurturing the development of a high-performance culture through recruitment practises, training, and opportunities. Setting goals and imposing sanctions as needed.
Student Benefits and Problems in Public Administration
Previously, the African continent relied on non-continental development frameworks to achieve the desired level of development in its higher education sector. The African higher education sector appears to be undergoing a paradigm shift toward a reliable framework that will drive the continent's development goals. Public administration education has evolved to meet the changing needs of African countries at various stages of development. This isn't limited to Africa. For example, public sector reform has never been far from Western government’s agendas. despite the fact that traditional public administration skills continue to be important Going forward, traditional craft skills must be improved with the understanding that traditional skills or new skills of New Public Management or New Public Governance, but what works and which skills fit in a specific context. Both Ghanaian and Nigerian universities have a colonial history, having inherited British educational systems. This is reflected in the courses required of undergraduate students in both countries. Students pursuing a degree in public administration must study bureaucracy, politics, decentralisation, public policy, ethics, governance, and the definition of public administration. However, there are some variations that reflect the respective countrie’s local needs.
There are numerous advantages to studying public administration. Students study Public Administration (PA) to prepare for careers in the public sector, as the government is the largest employer in many economies, with a wide range of positions requiring PA training. There is also a recurring need for people with specialised technical fields, such as engineers, to combine their technical skills with managerial skills, because their jobs may eventually involve management in the public sector.
It should also be noted that some professionals may have no need to work in the public sector but may seek contracts in the public sector at some point, and thus knowledge in Public Administration may be lacking but useful.