(DOF Seal)
The Department of Finance, in partnership with the Asian Institute Management, launched today the first ever master’s program customized for its employees. The initiative responds to the Philippines’ various development challenges by cultivating technical and management skill in government officials.
The Executive Masters in Development Management Public Finance program is a rigorous 20-month modularized program that combines managerial economics, public finance and budgeting, and statistics for strategic management that graduate students will relate to their official work in the government.
“We don’t want government jobs to be dead-end jobs. We want to make government agencies into learning organizations that are also true meritocracies,” Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima said.
AIM president Dr. Steven Dekrey for his part said, “The program is designed to enhance skills and capabilities necessary for public finance employees to develop a world view of Asia and beyond.”
The program will build on concentration courses in budgeting and program analysis, public debt and capital markets, revenue policy and administration, benefit-cost analysis, governmental accounting and financial reporting, and public program evaluation.
As compared with other career development opportunities within and for government workers, the program will be renewed every academic year and the curriculum continuously modified to address current challenges.
“In the past, we have not invested enough to build growth capacity within our institutions. With programs such as this partnership with AIM, we want to align the interests of our people with the interests of the government and the interests of the country. This is a great way to promote good governance and a sure antidote to corruption.” added the finance chief.
The program will run from April 2013 to December 2014 and is also open to DOF’s attached bureaus and agencies, as well as to GFI’s or government financial institutions.