Chandigarh, March 18, 2025- The Department of Public Administration, Panjab University, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Public Administration (IIPA) Punjab and Chandigarh Regional Branch, is organising a two day Curriculum Development Workshop in Public Administration. The workshop is sponsored by the Indian Council of Social Science Research (ICSSR) North-Western Regional Centre, Chandigarh.
The first day of the event commenced with an inaugural session, welcoming Prof. Manoj Dixit, Vice Chancellor of Maharaja Ganga Singh University, Bikaner, as the Chief Guest. Dr. Bharati Garg, Chairperson of the Department of Public Administration, delivered the welcome address followed by Dr. Bhawna Gupta, the Workshop Convener, who outlined the schedule and key objectives of the workshop.
The session started with an inaugural address by Prof. Pramod Kumar, Chairman of the Institute of Development and Communication, Chandigarh, emphasising the necessity of reassessing administrative goals, prioritizing pedagogy over curriculum, and fostering a holistic approach to knowledge dissemination. In the keynote address, Prof. Manoj Dixit highlighted the transformative potential of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020. He underscored the importance of integrating locally rooted knowledge, promoting language learning, and shifting from pedagogy to heutagogy. He further recommended key Indian literary and philosophical texts that revitalise the Indian Knowledge System and provide an alternative to dominant Western conceptual frameworks.
The session concluded with a presidential address by Prof. B.S. Ghuman, Former VC Punjabi University, Patiala, and Chairman of IIPA Punjab and Chandigarh Regional Branch, who reinforced the need for curriculum development in Public Administration in alignment with NEP 2020. Prof. Navreet Kaur delivered the formal vote of thanks, acknowledging the contributions of the esteemed speakers.
Following the inaugural session, a plenary session titled ‘National Education Policy 2020 and Public Administration Education and Research in India’ was chaired by Prof. Manoj Dixit. The session featured presentations by distinguished academicians, including Prof. Anil Monga, NEP Coordinator at Panjab University, Prof. Ajmer Malik, Former Vice Chancellor of CDLU Sirsa, and Prof. B.S. Ghuman. The panelists discussed critical issues such as skilling students, challenges in NEP implementation, fostering future-oriented learning, and the imperative to refocus on quality education through the Indian Knowledge System.
The post-lunch session featured hands-on curriculum development exercises, where participants engaged in breakout rooms to collaboratively design a progressive curriculum. This interactive segment facilitated collective brainstorming among stakeholders to align Public Administration education with contemporary needs and policy frameworks.