University discharging responsibility in building capacity of civil servants

Addis Ababa, May 24 (WIC) - The Ethiopian Civil Service University (ECSU) said it has been playing a key role in addressing shortage of trained manpower in the country in general and in states in need of special support in particular.

ECSU was established in 1995. The need for the establishment of the university arose from the need for the country’s new form of civil service system introduced in 1991 following the downfall of the Derg regime.

“Since its establishment, the university has made a commendable contribution towards building the capacity of the civil servants in the last 17 years,” Dr. Hailemichael Abera, President of ECSU told WIC.

He said the university has efficiently discharged its responsibility in building the capacity of the public sector by offering a variety of short-term courses, undergraduate and postgraduate programs.

The university in particular produced trained and educated personnel in various fields for the four states in need of special support, namely Afar, Somali, Benishangul Gumuz and Gambella, the President said.

Dr. Hailemichael pointed out that the university gives special attention to the participation of females in the training, particularly from these four states.

The university has so far graduated 2,430 students in masters, 7,960 students in bachelor degree, 8,165 students in diploma as well as offered short term training to 42,000 students, he said.

According to Dr. Hailemichael, the students graduated in Law, Economics, Accounting, Development Management, Urban Planning, Urban Management, Municipal Engineering and Tax Administration, among others.

In addition to training, the university has been conducting researches as well as providing consultancy services on civil service reform implementation for public organization, he added.

In order to build a fair, efficient and transparent civil service that accelerates the economic development of the country, the university offered support on the implementation of Business Process Re-engineering (BPR) to various organizations and institutions, Dr. Hailemichael

As part of the efforts to bridge the skilled manpower gap and achieve the vision of the country, the university is expanding its services by opening new programs, he said.

On top of the existing bachelor and masters programs, the university has set a plan to commence PhD in three fields of studies, namely in Urban Planning and Development, Public Financial Management and Public Management, he said.