Human capacity building through public administration education at Unisa.

Abstract

The University of South Africa UNISA) is an open distance learning (ODL) institution that provides students access to higher education. Many public servants work full time and can only study part time; this means that UNISA is their university of choice. Public Administration education at UNISA can contribute to build human capacity in the public service. Building human capacity in the public service can, in turn, assist in improving service delivery and was a point raised at the ANC conference at Polokwane. It also forms part of the Human Resources Development Strategic Framework for the Public Service: Vision 2015. The purpose of this article is therefore to determine if UNISA’s ODL policy can be used to teach Public Administration and thus improve human capacity in the South African public service.