Bangladesh Public Service Commission free essay sample

In Bangladesh, the entire framework for personnel management is a unified process. For a country to develop and keep up with the times, it is necessary that it creates a working infrastructure. It is the countrys public services sector that is concerned with this. Public services in Bangladesh are services provided by the government to the community. The Ministry of Establishment and Public Service Commission are managing the entire personnel activities of Public sectors. The Bangladesh Public Service Commission plays a vital role in recruitment, promotion, discipline, posting and transfer of government servants. This constitutional body ensures that decisions relating to the public services sector are made in line with equity and merit. Bangladesh Public Service Commission: Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC), established as an independent agency, is responsible for upholding merit in the staffing system of Bangladesh Civil service. It is primarily responsible for laying the foundation of the civil service through fair recruitment and selection of civil service officials that ultimately lays the foundation for good governance. This is why effectiveness, efficiency, accountability and transparency of BPSC are of utmost importance. Bangladesh Public Service Commission is a constitutional body established primarily to recruit persons for various services and posts in the government. It is also involved in decision processes relating to other service matters such as promotion, posting, transfer, discipline, and appeal of the government servants. The main purpose of constituting such a body, designated in most countries of British heritage as civil or public service commission, is to ensure that all decisions relating to recruitment and other service matters are made consistent with the principles of merit and equity. In Bangladesh, this body is presently designated as the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC). The secretariat for the PSC is provided by officers on deputation from the Bangladesh civil service (BCS). It has two key constitutional functions: recruitment of civil servants; and an advisory/regulatory role with regards to the employment of civil servants. Recruitment – Class 1 Officers (roughly 8% of all civil servants and the key decision makers – all the administrative cadre are Class 1 officers) are ecruited directly by the PSC through open competitive examination into 29 cadres and other government services. Numbers to be recruited are determined by the MOE which gathers the requirements for recruitment from the various ministries and government bodies. It then advises the PSC about how many to recruit for the various cadres. Recruitment follows Bangladesh Civil Service Recruitment Rules. Constitutional and Legal Framework The position, status, scope and functio ns of PSC have been clearly determined by the Constitution of Bangladesh. Articles 137 to 141 of the Constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh set out in clear and unambiguous terms the scheme for the establishment of the Commission(s), appointment and re-appointment of Chairman and Members, conditions of appointment, terms of office, provisions of resignation, functions of the Commission, and annual report. PSC in the Constitution of Bangladesh Article 137. Establishment of Commissions Provision shall be made by law for establishing one or more public service commissions for Bangladesh, each of which shall consist of a chairman and such other members as shall be Prescribed by law. 38. Appointment of members (1) The chairman and other members of each public service commission shall be appointed by the President. Provided that not less than one-half of the members of a commission shall be persons who have held office for twenty years or more in the service of any government which has at any time functioned within the territory of Bangladesh . (2) Subject to any law made by Parliament the conditions of service of the chairman and other members of a public service commission shall be such as the President may, by order, determine. 39. Term of office (1) The term of office of the chairman and other members of a public service commission shall, subject to the provisions of this article, expire five years after the date on which he entered upon his office, or when he attains the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier; (2) The chairman and other members of such a commission shall be removed from office except in like manner and on he like grounds as a judge of the[Supreme Court]. 3) A chairman or other member of a public service commission may resign his office by writing under his hand addressed to the President. (4) On ceasing to hold office a member of a public service commission shall not be eligible for further employment in the service of the Republic, but, subject to the provisions of clause (1) (a) a chairman so ceasing shall be eligible for re-appointment for one further term; and (b) a member (other than the chairman) so ceasing shall be eligible for re appointment for one further term or for appointment as chairman of a public service commission. 40. Functions of Commissions (1) The functions of a public service commission shall be- (a) to conduct tests examinations for the selection of suitable persons for appointment of the service of the Republic;(b) to advise the President on any matter on which the commission is consulted under clause (2) or on any matter connected with its functions which is referred to the commission by the President; and (c) such other functions as may be prescribed by law. 2) Subject to the provisions of any law made by Parliament, and any regulation (not inconsistent with such law) which may be made by the President after consultation with a commission, the President shall consult a commission with respect to- (a) matters relating to qualifications for, and methods of recruitment to, the service of the Republic; (b) the principles to be followed in making appointments to that service and promotions and transfers from one branch of the service to another, and the suitability of candidates for such appointment, promotions and transfers; (c) matters affecting the terms and conditions (including person rights) of that service; and (d) the discipline of the service. 141. Annual report (1) Each commission shall, not later than the first day of March each year, prepare and submit to the President a report of the performance of its functions during the period ended on the previous 31st day of December. (2) The report shall be accompanied by a memorandum setting out, so far as is known to the commission- (a) the cases, if any, in which its advise was not accepted and the reasons why it was not accepted; (b) the cases where the ommission ought to have been consulted and was not consulted, and the reasons why it was not consulted. (3) The Presid ent shall cause the report and memorandum to be laid before Parliament at its first meeting held after 31st March in the year in which the report was submitted. Roles of the PSC: The scope and functions of the PSC have been designed largely in keeping with PSC rules under the Government of India Act of 1919 and 1935, and East Pakistan Public Service Commission (EPPSC) with little bit modification by the government of Bangladesh. According to the existing Constitutional and legal provisions, PSC is essentially an advisory, consultative and ‘quasi-judicial’ body rather than an executive one. In other words, PSC was not given executive power to control civil services as contemplated by the Act of 1919 and Lee Commission. 30 The scope and functions of the PSC is limited to giving recommendations and advice on civil service management related issues e. g. , framing recruitment rules and procedures; recruitment, promotion, transfer, discipline, and give advise the President on any matter related to the civil service. However, the PSC may ask the concerned ministries or authorities which does not accept its advice to explain (a) the reasons why it was not accepted; (b) the cases where the commission ought to have been consulted but was not consulted, and (c) the reasons why it was not consulted. In this connection, Ahmed (1990:20) viewed that the effectiveness of the PSC depends on the unwritten but firmly established convention that the advice of a Commission is accepted as a matter of course. Although PSC is an independent Constitutional body, and its independence and autonomy have been guaranteed under provisions made in the Constitution and President’s Orders, as per Schedule I of the Rules of Business (issued in 1975), the Ministry of Establishment solely controls the policy decisions, composition, administration and financial matters of the Commission. The Establishment Division of the ministry interprets and determines the broad scope of functional responsibilities of PSC through issuing various orders, instructions, memoranda, circulars and so forth. 1 the functional jurisdiction of the Commission now covers only gazetted Class I and Class II officers belonging to government bodies. The major functions of PSC are as follows: Framing Recruitment Rules: The role of PSC in framing recruitment rules for both cadre and non-cadre officials are clearly specified in the Constitution. Accordingly, in January 1981, the Ministry of Establishment made a comprehensive set of recruitment rules titled The Establishment Manual of 1980 with due consultation with the PSC. In fact, as the first ever in Bangladesh, this manual clearly fixed the number of posts in cadre services, specified recruitment methods, age limit and qualifications of the candidates. As an advisory body, the PSC gives advice to the various ministries/divisions and attached departments on framing recruitment related rules for the services/posts under their control including matters relating to (i) the determination of qualifications for and methods of recruitment to such services/posts; (ii) principles to be followed in making recruitments, promotions and transfers to and within such services/posts under the government. Recruitment of Suitable Candidates for the Public Services The PSC is responsible for conducting competitive tests and examinations for the selection of most competent persons for the 1st Class gazetted and non-gazetted posts/positions of the Republic. The PSC has the legal mandate to select the suitable persons and give recommendation for appointment to the concerned ministry or departments. This is being done through the following methods since 1972. Examinations: No recruitment policy or procedure was made till 1981 for recruitment of first class gazetted civil servants of the republic. As a result, PSC arranged competitive examinations for the recruitment of 1st class gazetted officers in different names during 1972-1981. The recruitment rules for the selection of civil servants were made in 1981. Under these rules, the first BCS examination was conducted in 1983. Similar examinations have continued till today. Selection/Interview: Interview is a widely practiced method for recruitment of civil servants for the republic. It has been observed that about 55 percent of all recruitments through interview have been done by the governments during 1977-1985. Promotion: The ME sends list of the proposed candidates to the Commission together with their service documents, service records (Annual Confidential Reports ACR) and recruitment rules. The Commission gives advice to the President in respect of the candidates who are recommended depending on whether they have the requisite character and ability for the service or post for which they are proposed for appointment. Transfer and Ad Hoc Appointments: For appointments by transfer and deputation of persons from one service to another and to recruit persons on ad hoc basis, the concerned ministry/departments seek recommendations from the PSC via the ME. The Commission advises the President in respect of any candidate nominated if his/her qualifications are sufficient and if his/her record proves him/her to have the requisite character and ability for the post. Giving Advice on Disciplinary, Appeal and Memorial Matters As per provision made by the Constitution of Bangladesh, PSC carries out departmental inquiries into disciplinary and appeal matters of the pubic services and gives recommendations to the concerned ministries for necessary departmental actions. Preparing and Submitting Annual Report Preparing annual report on the performance of Commission’s functions (year long activities of the PSC) and then submitting it to the President of the Republic is a mandatory function of the PSC. A number of limitations were identified with regard to the annual reports of the PSC. ?It was observed that the annual reports of successive years same issues are repeated. This reflects the fact that preparation of annual report by PSC is almost as a routine work. ?Information about the number of recommendations under quota is absent. ?The reports hardly have detail discussion on (a) the cases, if any, in which its advise was not accepted and the reasons why it was not accepted; (b) the cases where the Commission ought to have been consulted and was not consulted, and the reasons why it was not consulted. The annual report provides only a descriptive list of the Chairman and Members, officers and staff but contains no information about their job description and previous professional b ackground as well as their outstanding achievements. From the above discussion, it is evident that the PSC works as an ‘advisory’, ‘consultative’ and ‘quasi-judicial’ body rather than an executive one. The functions are clearly described by constitutional mandates, government orders and establishment manuals of the country. Problems of the PSC As an important institution under the NIS, the PSC should follow the basic principles of a public service managing authority. The PSC should be detached from the political government, and the recruitment to service should be by open competition based on ideals of a non-partisan career civil service. Constitutional and Legal Limitations The following constitutional and legal limitations have been identified that paved the way towards irregularities and corruption in the PSC. Insufficient Qualification and Eligibility Criteria: It is observed that the existing qualification and eligibility criteria are not sufficient for selecting competent persons as Chairmen and Members. Absence of a Transparent Selection Procedure: Since 1972, the whole process of selection of Chairman and Members has shown an absolute lack of transparency. Under the existing Constitutional mandate, the appointment of Chairman and Members are made by the President of the Republic in accordance with advice from the Prime Minister. Accordingly, the appointments for these Constitutional positions completely depend on the will of the Chief Executive of the country. The common people are kept in the dark about how a person is selected as Chairman or Member of the Commission. Due to lack of specific selection procedure and qualification criteria, is observed that protagonist bureaucrats (civil and military) and university teachers having close connection, loyalty or trust of influential ministers, Prime Minister’s Office, influential leaders of pro-ruling party professional bodies (e. g. University teachers’ associations, student wings) have become Chairmen and Members of the Commission since 1972. Among those who were appointed as Members since 1996, 74% had formal political positions in their respective associations, or relatives of leaders of the ruling party/alliance, while the rest are known to have high political connections which attributed to their becoming Members. Absence of Accountability Measures for Chairman and Members: Any specific legal provision or guidelines for ensuring the accountability of Chairman and Members do not exist. Few Such absence of accountability measures may encourage a section of Members along with the Chairman to be involved in unconstitutional activities and irregularities such as involvement in political campaign. Lower Rank of the Chairman and Members: The Chairman and Members of the PSC hold the lowest status among the constitutional bodies of Bangladesh. The rank of the Members is lower than that of the additional secretaries to the government. It is identified that the undermined positions of PSC Chairman and Members in the Warrant of Precedence have created opportunity for interference by the bureaucracy upon the PSC in discharging its functions as mandated by the Constitution. Weak Mechanism for Removal or Termination: Through the existing provisions, it is difficult to remove or terminate a corrupt Chairman or Member. Although there have been allegations against the PSC Chairman and some of the Members, the President of the Republic has not taken any initiative to investigate the allegations and take disciplinary action. Absence of Operations Principles: The PSC does not have any operations principles, vision and mission of the Commission. This dearth has been considered as opportunities by the consecutive governments to sway from the core principles of the public service. Lack of Access to Information: The right to access to information is considered an integral part of freedom of expression and fundamental human rights which lays the foundation good governance, and builds a relationship of trust with the pubic. The Council of Europe (COE), the Organization of American States (OAS) and the African Nations, and more than sixty countries (including India, Nepal and Pakistan) have made provisions for freedom of information for all. Denial of Right to Justice Under the existing provisions no examinee can challenge any decision related to BCS or any other exam/test conducted by the PSC. The decision(s) taken by the PSC regarding examinations will be considered as absolute. This created a great deal of opportunities for irregularities. Dependency on the Government The relationship between PSC and the government has been a controversial issue since the establishment of the first PSC in British India on 1 October 1926. However, according to the functions of the PSC, the following issues reflect PSC’s dependence upon the government: ? PSC is a division under the Ministry of Establishment. No legal provision has yet been made to establish PSC as a separate entity, which will be accountable to the National Parliament and President simultaneously; ? PSC is a Constitutional body to give support to the central public personnel organ of the government; ? It ives only recommendations on appointment, disciplinary, promotion, transfer cases related to the 1st class gazetted and non-gazetted civil servants of the republic; ? PSC gives recommendations to the Ministry of Establishment on service-related issues only after request from the ministry; and ? PSC has no role in implementing its recommendations sent to the ministry on service-related matters. Financial Dependence: The Commission has no freedom in its budgetary and financial matters. All financial issues relating to its revenue expenditure including capital expenditure for any development scheme is controlled by the Ministry of Establishment. All income of the PSC (e. g. application fees and examination charges realized from the examinees) goes to the government treasury. Moreover, the PSC depends on the Ministry of Establishment for sanctioning the house rent, traveling allowances and medical benefits for its Chairman, Members and staff. In fact, by controlling the financial and administrative matters of PSC, the independence of commission, is thereby denied. Lack of Accountability Measures Little Role played by the Parliament: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on the Ministry of Establishment (PSCME) under no legal provision can on the specific role and functions of. Due to this gap, the PSCME cannot take any effective initiative to combat irregularities in the PSC. Even due to sheer majority, attempts by some of the MPs to establish accountability for Chairman and Members of the Commission failed. Controversial Role of Few Members and Chairmen: In recent years, PSC Chairmen and Members have faced a lot of criticism due to their controversial activities. A Member of the PSC took part in electoral campaign in 2006, as he sought nomination from the four-party alliance. Another member expressed his gratefulness to the Prime Minister and the Mayor of a city corporation at a public meeting in March 2006. The Bureau of Anti-Corruption (now Anti-corruption Commission) filed cases against a former Chairman of the PSC for alleged involvement in appointing persons in government service under freedom fighters quota through fake documents. Politicized Confidential Section: Pro-ruling party staff is usually transferred to the Confidential Section immediately after taking over by a new government. This is done to ensure partisan recruitments without facing any trouble. Irregularities in Examination Related Issues Recruitment System under the BCS Examination Process: 1. the examination system is archaic and outdated lacking the scope of proper assessment of the competency of candidates, 2. Because of lack of transparent assessment criteria for examinations, there is scope of irregularities and corruption in the recruitment process, 3. there have been blatant examples of partisan Irregularities in BCS examination: 1. Contractual selection based on transaction of bribery is rampant. a. Contract in getting attractive cadres for those who made it to the merit list i. Administration/Police Cadre: Tk. 5-7 lac ii. Customs/Tax: Tk. 8-10 lac iii. Professional Cadre: Tk. 2-3 lac b. Contract for selecting candidates who failed to make it to the merit list i. Administration/Police Cadre: Tk. 8-10 lac ii. Customs/Tax: Tk. 10-12 lac iii. Professional Cadre: Tk. 3-5 lac 2. The Leakage of question paper has been happening on regular basis since the 24th BCS examination. 3. Seat allocation is also done with bribe. 4. Exam scripts are submitted without appearing at the exam hall. Exam scripts are changed on payment basis. 5. Merit list and results are changed. Successful candidates are dropped from merit list by adding new candidates on payment of bribe and on political consideration. 6. High marks are given arbitrarily in Viva Voce to the candidates under contract or to political cadres and activists. 7. Candidates are asked to answer controversial questions like who is the declarer of independence of Bangladesh. 8. Pressures to recruit persons belonging to lists sent from the high command of the ruling party. 9. Candidates are called by PSC Members at the commission for negotiation. 10. Selection allowed with fake certificate since 20th BCS examination. 11. Documents of BCS examination are destroyed without maintaining proper procedures (e. g. , Secretariat Regulations 1974). 12. Candidates are not provided with mark-sheets. 13. PSC never publishes data on the specific quota of recommended candidates Quota system: 1. The quota system is implemented without transparency. 2. Outcome of the quota policy has never been made public by PSC or MOE. Official documents, gazette notifications do not have data regarding quota of the BCS cadres. 3. Discrimination against Institutional Limitations Recruitment, Promotion Transfer of Internal Staff on Political Consideration: The first recruitment rules for recruitment of officers and employees in PSC were made in April 22, 1982. 20 It is observed that since 1991, the recruitment of PSC staff (especially the 1st 2nd class officers) has been done on political consideration. Officers considered as barriers/threats against the interests of the ruling party have been made Officers on Special Duty (OSD) and sent back to the Ministry of Establishment. Limited Career of the PSC Officials: The highest level of position for the 1st class officers of the PSC Secretariat is limited up to the Controller of the Commission. 121 Joint Secretaries (or above) of the Government has been given appointment as Secretary of the Commission through transfer or deputation since 1972, for which position the PSC staff are not considered. Syndicates in PSC: The non-transferable nature of the job, the officers and employees of the PSC Secretariat has led to the emergence of syndicates in the PSC. These syndicates are so strong that even the Chairman cannot take any action against these groups. No Capacity-building Program for the PSC Staff: there is a training program for improving the capacity of the Commission’s officers and employees. It is learnt that the lack of capacity building program in PSC is to some extent responsible for delaying the result of various exams. Lack of Modern Technology and Documentation: The Commission seriously lacks modern technical support. Major activities of the administration, accounting and library sections are done manually. A network based management information system is absent in the PSC. There is also a serious lack of proper documentation. Research Section: The Research Section has not yet conducted any research on the trend of the representation of the population, in terms of religion, ethnicity and sex of the recommended BCS posts. No substantial study on problems/limitations of the ongoing operations of the PSC has been carried out since its establishment in 1972. Library: The library of the PSC is inaccessible for the common people. It is not modernized and the PSC seems to have no plan to turn it into a modern library. No Printing Press for the PSC: Printing press is required to print question papers every year for various competitive tests and exams conducted by the PSC. Still it has to depend on the BG Press to print all these. However, there are risks of leakage of question papers in printing these outside BG Press. Inadequate Office Equipments: The number of photocopier, scanner, fax machine, selves/racks, space for storage of the exam scripts and documents of the examinees are inadequate. Recommendations The following recommendations have been made with regard to ensuring good governance within the PSC. Re-Constitution of the Commission and Punishment of the Corrupt 1. The PSC should be reconstituted immediately composed of a Chairperson and Members with impeccable professional excellence and undisputed integrity, efficiency and credibility. 2. A Special Committee should be formed to accomplish the above and recommend measures for reforming the Commission with special emphasis on neutrality, independence and effectiveness of the Commission. 3. The Anti-corruption Commission should be called upon to investigate into all sorts of irregularities and corruptions held in PSC at all levels including former and present Chairman, Members, officers and employees and their dependents. 4. The Chairperson, Members and staff of Commission must reveal their income, assets and liabilities and those of their immediate family members and regularly update the same. 5. Investigations should include all recruitments especially the 20-27th BCS exams conducted by PSC during the last 15 years. Independence and Accountability of the PSC 1. The PSC must be granted full independence in terms of administrative and financial control befitting the challenge facing it. 2. The Commission must have internal self-regulatory and transparency mechanism in place, while it must be externally reportable to the Parliament through Standing Committee on Public Service. Qualification and Eligibility Criteria for Chairman and Members The Chairman and Members of the Commission must be: 1. Persons of high integrity, strong moral courage, personality and commitment. 2. Must have knowledge and experiences on public administration. 3. Prepared to disassociate from any other position of financial benefit. 4. Must have sound health and proven non-communal attitude. Selection of Chairman and Members The present practice under which the Chief Executive is the ultimate appointing authority of the Chairman and Members of the Commission must be replaced by a creating a Search Committee consisting of the Chief Executive, Chief Justice, Leader of the Opposition in the Parliament, Eminent retired Civil Servant of impeccable record and credibility, non-partisan and professionally acclaimed educationist and civil society member and a media person with similar credibility. Selection process may be as followers: ? Step I: Make a list of the competent persons for appointing as member and chairman of any constitutional body. ?Step II: Send the list to the anti-corruption commission to assess their credibility, service records and assets. Step III: Publish the names of the proposed persons along with their qualification and assets in electronic and print media. ?Step IV: Make a short list of the proposed persons and send it to the Parliament for general discussion. The parliament will send th e list to the Search Committee. ?Step V: The Search Committee will finalize the panel of the Chairman and Members and send it to the President for approval. Rank of Chairman/Members The status and rank of the Chairmen of the PSC should be made equivalent to a Minister, and members should be equivalent to the Judges of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court. Reforms in Examination and Recruitment System 1. An Examination and Recruitment Reform Committee should be formed to odernize the examination and recruitment system meeting the challenges of the service for which recruitments are made, with particular emphasis on the merit based recruitment, complete abolition of partisan political or any other influence in the recruitment, and specific needs of the various cadres. 2. The existing generalized exam system should be abolished and cadre-specific examination should be introduced to ensure efficiency and professionalism in service. 3. The new examination system must ensure evalua tion by relevant, honest and skilled examiners. 4. A set of transparent guidelines must be prepared and publicly available consisting of the examination rules and recruitment process. 5. The Commission should have a Complain Box to receive complaints and suggestions from the service receivers. All complains should be duly addressed and results made public. Quota System 1. The existing quota system for freedom fighters and district are no longer considered logical and should be abolished. 2. At least 75% of places should be on purely merit basis, while the remaining may be distributed for affirmative action on the basis of gender, ethnic and religious identity. Access to Information 1. The mark sheet of the successful candidates should be given to the examinees on compulsory basis immediately after the result is published; 2. The result sheet of all examinees (both successful and unsuccessful) must be published on the website. 3. Existing restrictions against challenging the result of examinations should be immediately abolished. Other Management Issues 1. A website for PSC should be established with all information. 2. Computerized data base and MIS should be established with all information of public interest publicly available through various means including website. 3. A Human Resource Unit should be established at PSC, with special emphasis on training and capacity building of the staff. 4. All personnel of the staff should be recruited based on relevant academic background, merit and skills. 5. Should recruit totally new officers and employees for the commission purely based on relevant academic background, merit and necessary skills. The reconstruction Committee on PSC will determine the required number of the staff for PSC through feasibility study. 6. The Secretary of the PSC should be equivalent to the Secretary of the government. PSC’s Integrity Statement and Citizen’s Committee 1. Initiative should be taken to introduce Integrity Statement/Code of Ethics for the PSC. 2. A Committee of Concerned Citizens composed of persons with proven integrity, efficiency and commitment may be constituted to keep watch on the activities and performance of the PSC and to suggest measure to make the PSC efficient and honest. Anti-corruption Hotline on Public Service Commission A hotline (phone number or mail box) may be introduced in the office of the Anticorruption Commission (ACC) of Bangladesh to receive all sorts of complaints related to irregularities and corruption of the PSC. The Special Reform Committee on the PSC and ACC may jointly explore the specific structure, and working procedure of this hotline.