The University of Pretoria (UP) recently partnered with the National School of Government (NSG) through Enterprises University of Pretoria (Enterprises UP) to accelerate efforts to build an ethical, capable and developmental state.

To preserve value, the public sector requires entities to build an ethical, professional, and capable public sector in order to improve their operations and service delivery, and this can be done with ready access to experienced professionals and specialists who can provide specialised advisory services and training to boost skills and professional development for a future-proof workforce.

Representatives from various higher education institutions and National School of Government representatives during the partnership signing ceremony in Pretoria.

The partnership between UP and the NSG is in response to a call from the NSG for partnerships with higher education institutions (HEIs) to provide various education, training, and development functions with the NSG. UP was successful in its bid submission and has been named as a preferred training partner on a list of pre-approved HEIs to perform these functions.

Busani Ngcaweni, Principal of the NSG, stated during the signing ceremony of the National School of Government's Partnership Agreement with the appointed HEIs hosted by NSG on Thursday, 3 June 2021: “As the National School of Government we are going through a very delicate imagination process that seeks to place us as the National School of Government at the centre of efforts to rebuild state capacity by not only giving hard technical skills but also by dealing with issues of values in the public sector as a whole.”

He stated further: “The task we have together is to lead a skills revolution that will change the performance of the public sector as a whole. We are imagining ourselves as the National School of Government as an assimilator, given the weight and size of the work that we have to do. We must enter into partnerships with yourselves so that we decentralise this idea of an assimilator.

Busani Ngcaweni, Principal of the NSG, and Professor Margaret Chitiga-Mabugu, Director and Head of the School of Public Management and Administration of UP.

“Our scope of work has expanded, we must train the public sector. However, our strength on our own is very much limited; by entering into this relationship we are building our strength so that we're able to meet the demands of expectations.” 

Speaking on behalf of UP, Professor Norman Duncan, Vice-Principal: Academic of UP, expressed gratitude for the opportunity to collaborate with the NSG. “We are extremely grateful for this opportunity to be in service of the country and that UP can contribute to the capacitation in the public service.”

“We are excited to be part of this partnership with the NSG,” said Professor Margaret Chitiga-Mabugu, Director and Head of the School of Public Management and Administration of UP. “UP and the School of Management and Public Administration, through Enterprises UP, have been in partnership with the NSG for many years, so this is just further indorsement of how well this partnership is working. We look forward to making contributions to our country.”