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Prof Hendri Kroukamp has been appointed to the Accreditation Committee of the International Commission on Accreditation of Public Administration Education and Training.

Prof Hendri Kroukamp, Dean of the Faculty of Economic and Management Sciences at the University of the Free State (UFS), has been appointed to the Accreditation Committee (AC) of the International Commission on the Accreditation of Public Administration Education and Training (ICAPA) in January 2021.

He is serving on this committee with, inter alia, John-Mary Kauzya, Chief of the Public Service Innovation Branch of the United Nations (UN); Lichia Saner-Yiu, President of the Academy for Quality in Training and Education, Geneva, Switzerland; and Allan Rosenbaum, Public Service Adviser to President Joe Biden of the USA and President of the American Society for Public Administration (ASPA). 

Ensuring accountability and transparency 

Prof Kroukamp supports the belief that an effective government and public administration are essential in the promotion of economic development and in ensuring the kind of accountability and transparency that are central to sustaining a democratic society. 

He is convinced that high-quality education and training is key in producing effective and accountable public administrators and government officials.

Consequently, he says that providing the highest quality of public administration education and training must be a central objective of all those concerned with promoting and sustaining democratic and prosperous societies. “It is of critical importance to preparing the next generation of public administrators and government officials. The current generation of public administrators and government officials also need constant development in terms of their competencies, skills, and capabilities,” he adds.

Standard of excellence prescribes programmes 

ICAPA, which provides quality assurance services for education and training programmes in public administration, will address these objectives. 

Based on self-evaluation reports and site visits, programmes are confronted with the Standards of Excellence for Public Administration Education and Training. These are jointly developed by the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN-DESA) and the International Association of Schools and Institutes of Administration (IASIA). 

Serving on the Accreditation Committee, part of his role will include adopting the accreditation criteria, constituting site-visit teams, deciding on accreditation, submitting the annual plan and report, and serving in this main pool of site reviewers. 

News Archive

UFS and Free State department of Agriculture take hands
2007-04-02

During the visit to the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences of the University of the Free State (UFS) were, from the left: Mr Casca Mokitlane (Member of the Executive Committee for Agriculture in the Free State), Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk (Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS) and Mr Tshepiso Ramarakane (Head of the Department of Agriculture in the Free State).

Photo: Stephen Collett
 

There is a need for the University of the Free State (UFS) and the Free State Department of Agriculture to work together as partners to pursue the development of agriculture in the province.

Prof. Herman van Schalkwyk, Dean of the Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences at the UFS and Mr Casca Mokitlane, Member of the Executive Council (MEC) in the Free State, recently held investigative discussions to determine how a more focused strategic leadership for the development of agriculture in the province can be established.

Mr Mokitlane visited the faculty on the Main Campus in Bloemfontein and exchanged information with Prof. Van Schalkwyk on development issues in agriculture. Certain important agricultural issues between the faculty and the department was identified in order to build a more vibrant and sustainable agricultural industry in the province.

A few issues that would contribute to the building of relationships for sectoral development such as agricultural research, the training of small farmers and the department’s guidance officers, the support of community projects and targets for the land reform process were also discussed.

Mr Mokitlane visited nine departments within the faculty, among others the Lengau Agricultural Training Centre, where he had short discussions with prospective black farmers.

According to Prof. Van Schalkwyk thorough training of black emerging farmers was discussed. It was clear to him that small farmers who have already completed their training are a priority for the faculty. Further discussions will continue at a later stage.

Mr Mokitlane was also informed about the research done at the faculty, training programmes offered and the roles the different divisions are playing in terms of community service. Postgraduate students informed the delegates of their specific research and studies.

“We have great appreciation for the time Mr Mokitlane and his colleagues from the Department of Agriculture spent listening to what the faculty can do for agriculture in the Free State and also the rest of the country,” said Prof. Van Schalkwyk.

“Both parties are in agreement that the one cannot function without the other. We must move closer to each other in the interest of agriculture to face the challenges ahead,” said Prof. Van Schalkwyk.

Media release
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Assistant Director: Media Liaison
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: loaderl@ufs.ac.za
30 March 2007

 

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