THE phone rings in the Cabinet Division and a young officer answers to hear the deputy secretary saying “the honourable prime minister wants to announce relief for the people struck by a recent natural calamity; prepare a proposal”.
The officer prepares a very comprehensive proposal taking into account the economic state of the poor victims and inflation, as well as other factors. The proposal is submitted for approval. The phone rings again and the boss says, “Just copypaste the amount from the proposal for the 2005 earthquake, replace the word ‘earthquake’ with ‘flood’ and submit it again. There is no need to revise the amount to be given away. Don’t try to be over-smart.” I am sure the 2005 proposal would have been created on the basis of that of the 1993 floods, and so on. We’re stuck in the last century. This is how the typical government office in Pakistan works.

Bureaucracy is the key to good governance, for civil servants take important decisions that guide the destiny of the country. They are recruited mainly through the CSS exam. There are 12 occupational groups in the civil service, yet the exam hardly takes into consideration the educational background, the aptitude and suitability of an individual for a particular service group.

As a result, we have cases where someone who holds a Master’s degree in English literature ends up doing debiting and crediting work in the audits and accounts service; someone who topped his university in journalism ends up in the Pakistan Railways; while an engineer is stuck in the information service. An expert in international relations may be calling the shots in the postal group and a camera-shy, introverted woman might end up in the foreign service, with the responsibility of projecting Pakistan’s image. A romantic poet might end up in the police service, which is a mismatch unless he plans to read his poetry to criminals.

The world is moving towards specialisation, with people knowing more and more about less and less. We in Pakistan have people who know less and less about more and more. The civil service needs reform, and the reform needs to start from the basic recruitment phase.

There has been a mushroom growth of ‘CSS academies’ around the country, which promise to prepare candidates for the exam. They specialise in helping candidates take notes, answer objective-type questions and they predict a set of 10 or 20 questions for each optional subject. The exam format has been deciphered and they manage a reasonable rate of success for their clients in the written exams. This has brought an end to the era of bureaucrats such as Mukhtar Masood, Qudrat Ullah Shahab, and Agha Shahi who preferred creating to cramming. The cramming approach is reflected in the decisions made by bureaucrats later on during their careers.

The exam has faults of its own, such as the fact that marking is inconsistent. One year, a subject — say, history — would net a candidate 193 marks out of 200; next year the highest score in the same subject would be just 93. (A person really did get 193 marks in history in recent years.) The discrepancy can only have two explanations: either Toynbee appeared in the exam and there was no K.K. Aziz the next year, or the system is inconsistent.

The exam currently comprises 1,500 marks divided up as 600 marks for optional subjects, 600 for compulsory subjects and 300 for the interview. Optional subjects should be done away with because they do not increase the candidate’s knowledge and are used only to accrue marks. Once the exam has been taken, these subjects are out of sight and later out of mind as well. Similarly, candidates that opt for a regional language as an optional subject gain unreasonably greater marks due to prevalent biases in the people who do the marking. This advantage is nothing but an impingement on merit and undermines the principle of a fair-playing ground.

Along with compulsory subjects there should be one additional paper depending on the choice a candidate makes on the basis of his education, aptitude and interest. The service groups should be divided into four categories. Candidates that want to join the police service, the district management group or the military lands and cantonment group should take the additional paper of law. The curriculum for this should not only be comprehensive but modern as well. Meanwhile, candidates interested in the information service, Pakistan Post, Pakistan Railways and the office management group should take an additional paper on marketing, media and management.

Individuals who are interested in serving in the foreign service or the commerce and trade group should take international relations as an additional paper. Financial administration should be the additional exam for candidates interested in accounts, customs and income tax.

Candidates should not be allowed to opt for more than one set of service groups in a given year. In this way, we will automatically get the right people — better motivated and better trained through the relevant education — for the right job. A bit of training at the Civil Services Academy focusing mainly on work ethics and grooming would set them and the country in the right direction. Lastly, I would like to answer a reader who asked me: “Do you really believe anybody is listening to you?” My answer is, “no, but that won’t stop me from saying it”.


The writer is a civil servant.

EMAIL
s_a_h_2@hotmail.com

Dear Fellows Plz share your thoughts and knowledge regarding this Article....

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When devil starts messing God starts blessing......

Entirely wrong inference. What kind of specialization can there be for civil services besides understanding of affairs and awakened conscience . If you go that way, someone who is to be selected in PSP should have done a commando course prior to get into that service . I think everyone who clears CSS has an understanding of affairs, awakened conscience has different factors affecting it and there is no course particularly designed for that purpose. Specialized people are selected for specialized jobs, like an engineer is selected for engineering jobs, civil services have an entirely different scope and these job are more general in nature than specialized (like public dealing and handling).

I myself being an engineering student have studied subjects like history, political science and current affairs etc to prepare for CSS. Due to that, I now have an understanding of affairs of the state. I also studied how nation states were formed, what different political ideologies are and how they have been implemented. I am able to make distinctions between social, political and religious affairs. Its all due to preparation of CSS, because otherwise I was only a computer geek who would always seek software solutions for any problem .

Slothful individuals, likewise of those mentioned in the article, can be selected whatever the procedure of selection maybe. The case that they were always slothful or became slothful after rising to top of the civil administration echelons due to social and political environment under which they worked is a different subject to study.

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The precondition for existence of a higher humanity is not the state, but the nation possessing the necessary ability.

Putting aside all suggestions and ground realities, I would like to ask your majesty what rati of appeared candidates make information, postal, railways and trade and commerce etc as their first choice? More than 90% candidates have PSP. DMG, Customs. Foreign Services etc. It would mean that more than 90% people would opt for either law or some other single subject mentioned by you as one paper of choice? All they would be allocated according to their subject chosen and group choice. Since the ratio of seats of these groups is comparatively low, little number of them will be allocated. It would result in non-filling of vacant posts in other groups as candidates who opted for upper two cadres don't desire for the lower ones that is why they did not opt proposed subject in this connection.
Logically and realistically an acknowledged failure.

Regards

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"The calmer I appear, the more dangerous I am."

@Fortune, Dear kindly let me tell u that these are not my personal opinions OR my personal views on my behalf, this is an article written by syed Saadat The civil Servant; frequently writting on civil service issues in Dawn Newspaper.
However I would like to say that to day the world is advancing at speedy pace, to days is not the world of specialization but of Multi-Tasking. Further more, I think specialization is most needed tool for technical side careers, like; Engineering, Accounting,Medicines Computers etc. While serving as bureaucrat one should be apt at public maneuvering , Man is the most un-predictable creature on the earth, so dealing with public is not the matter of specialization but rather of handling with tactics and provides the real time solution to their problems. Meanwhile regarding the choice of occupational group mr.saadat has suggested to go for only one choice while keeping in view the same concept of specialization in his mind is not workable. Let the choice for the people kept open….

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When devil starts messing God starts blessing......

Bureaucracy is the key to good governance, for civil servants take important decisions that guide the destiny of the country. They are recruited mainly through the CSS exam. There are 12 occupational groups in the civil service, yet the exam hardly takes into consideration the educational background, the aptitude and suitability of an individual for a particular service group.

I tend to disagree here as the selection to a particular group is made duly on the basis of suitability of the candidate to the group.The psychological tests are therefore conducted to judge the aptitude and personality of a candidates.

We in Pakistan have people who know less and less about more and more......

disagreed. Everywhere in the world people who know little about everything and everything about something are valued.


we have cases where someone who holds a Master’s degree in English literature ends up doing debiting and crediting work in the audits and accounts service

I guess no CSP does the debit credit in this fashion as these are technical and entry level jobs.

Optional subjects should be done away with because they do not increase the candidate’s knowledge and are used only to accrue marks. Once the exam has been taken, these subjects are out of sight and later out of mind as well.

Not always correct.Optional subjects are opted for one's interest and educational background and it adds to one knowledge and understanding.there are people who develop a life long affiliation in certain subjects.So they are not out of sight.

candidates that opt for a regional language as an optional subject gain unreasonably greater marks due to prevalent biases in the people who do the marking. This advantage is nothing but an impingement on merit and undermines the principle of a fair-playing ground


quite true ,I do agree here.

Along with compulsory subjects there should be one additional paper depending on the choice a candidate makes on the basis of his education, aptitude and interest. The service groups should be divided into four categories. Candidates that want to join the police service, the district management group or the military lands and cantonment group should take the additional paper of law. The curriculum for this should not only be comprehensive but modern as well. Meanwhile, candidates interested in the information service, Pakistan Post, Pakistan Railways and the office management group should take an additional paper on marketing, media and management



Thats what they do during their STP.

Candidates should not be allowed to opt for more than one set of service groups in a given year. In this way, we will automatically get the right people — better motivated and better trained through the relevant education — for the right job

Majority of the people opt for the top three groups..It means people won't be able to secure their position even grabbing top positions on the merit list.

Lastly, he has mentioned the anmes of Aga Shahi and Qudrat ullah Shub.As per my little knowledge they were not wither EXPERTS in any special field.They shone their brilliance after they joined the Civil Service later.And all the people who comptete and qualify the CSS exam are quite capable lot.bs zara c tarbiyat dust simt may ho to yeh mati bari zarkhez hay SAHJI



Regards

oriental

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You may be disappointed if you fail, but you are doomed if you don't try.

If reforms are to be taken, they should be implemented in the entire structure of bureaucracy, not just in the selection procedure..

I do not agree with this, look seats are divided in provincial quotas, and those who opt for regional language are usually competing among candidates of their own provinces. For example mostly people belonging to Sindh will opt for Sindhi language as optional, and Sindh province has its seperate quota of seats from other provinces, therefore Sindhi opters won't affect the merit of other provinces' candidates. Hope you got my point . The rhetoric around Regional Language subjects is nothing more than a sentimental rhetoric.

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The precondition for existence of a higher humanity is not the state, but the nation possessing the necessary ability.

Assalam o alaikum.

There is no second opinion about the need for reforms as the system of administration should be modernized and made coherent with the demands of current era. There is always a room for improvement. I agree till this point.

But I disagree with the notion that specialist in discipline should join an occupational group( e.g.IR degree holder should be inducted in FSG or legal experts should be inducted in police and DMG), for the reason that just as a Masters Degree is obtained in Two years at University level, the CTP+STP+ in-service trainings also make up almost two years and are specially designed for making the trainee capable of shouldering the responsibility of the office. And I believe these trainings make the trainee much more capable than a plain university degree holder in that field. Now that the graduates are trained and given first hand experience in the relevant field, then what's the need of finding specialists of that field. And finally, FPSC has not compelled anyone to do Masters or MPhil before taking exams, it has set a criteria of BA with second division or bachelors degree in any field. The quest of higher education is a candidate's personal aptitude and requirement.

Moreover, if the allocation is done on the basis of academics, then I guess there is no need of civil service at all. A senior engineer should lead his department ( C&W, WAPDA etc), a doctor as a federal health secretary and so on. Then what's the need of all this brainstorming.

Let me assure you that the CSPs performance is deplorable not because they are ill trained, but because they are ill-led and general environment of our country as a whole is lazy and corrupt. The junior Officer was competent to prepare the report for 2010 floods because he was trained, but he could not materialize it because of an inefficient senior. Apologies if anybody is offended.

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"I strictly disagree with what you say, but I will defend your right to say it untill my death"

One area where reforms are needed is to shorten the time taken in the selection process to 4-5 months at the max.To make it possible i suggest that a screening test be introduced in the form of essay paper already in the compulsory list of subjects.The result of this can be announced in a months time.I am sure that less than 1000caandidates will be able to make it to other compulsory papers.Moreover as suggested the optional subject should be done away with as only the compulsory subjects check the originality of the student. Interview should be directed to test the character of the candidate rather than his knowledge,which is adequately tested in the written.So few general knowledge questions should be asked in interview

I agree with the writer only to the extent that sometimes only sometimes the proper allocations are not assigned and that the academies have made it into a roaring business, by helping candidates cut corners. Although a majority of the probationers I know and others on this forum don’t go to academies and if they do it’s only for a bit of guidance.

The Common Training Program also assists in creating an atmosphere of unity and teaching of work ethics.

As for regional subjects, they surely are necessary, talk of bias must be ignored and a fact must be acknowledged that regional subjects-which are usually ignored in regular academics-are given their due recognition. Getting accustomed to ones regional language is an advantage and not a loss. Many of the aspirants including me never have studied regional languages. After selecting it for CSS i've started reading poetry in Pushto. I consider it a gain.

The proposal of the writer to categorize the groups and assign an additional subject to each one is seemingly irrelevant. He further proposes to restrict a candidate to a certain category in a given year. Take for instance the second category that he mentions i.e. Railways, Postal, Information and Office Management Group; how many candidates would choose this category as their top priority; maybe 50 in total. Other than that these ‘additional papers’ are taught to respective groups during the Specialized Training Program. The training at the Civil Services Academy is quite adequate for instance DMG officers go through revenue laws, penal codes, taxations, public finance etc in their Specialized Training Program all taught by scholars/senior officers.

The problem arises when the majority of the candidates will in their first chances opt for the Foreign Services Category and the DMG/Police category after that the Income Tax/Customs category leaving even weaker or only job desperate candidates to the other category especially the Railways/Postal. This will further ruin these already weak groups of the CSS services groups. The commission would in turn have to raise the limit of chances to at least 8 or 12 depending on the number of chances allowed per category. Also certain groups-like DMG, Police and Customs don’t need functionally specialized candidates but instead require extrovert and bold people.

Flaws are there no doubt, like the increased dependence on the written result, in turn the psychological assessment taken before the interview must be given due importance in judging a candidate’s suitability for certain groups. The interview too must carry more marks than only 300.

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