Public administration education in the Philippines 1951-2020: History, challenges, and prospects

The Philippines was the first country to offer Public Administration (PA) degree programs in Asia beginning in 1952. PA programs were offered by the newly established Institute of Public Administration at the University of the Philippines (UP) in 1951, in line with the Bell Mission's recommendations to rebuild the civil service and facilitate recovery from World War 2. Since then, Philippine PA education has evolved with the changing political, administrative, and economic landscape. PA programs have expanded across the country, and PA professional and educational associations have grown. Despite these, obstacles limit their development and challenge their relevance. The general environment of PA education in the Philippines remains, in my view, fragmented, impeded by regulatory issues, dependent on imported theories, ideas, and frameworks due to centralized and limited indigenous scholarship. PA programs face questions on the suitability of its curricula to the needs of students and the public sector. Finally, it must deal with the question of whether PA, as it is taught and practiced, is responsive to the needs of the Philippine bureaucracy and society. Several options in dealing with these challenges are proposed and explored in this article.