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Thursday, July 18, 2024

CSS aspirants will undergo screening test first before examination

The federal government has decided to raise the qualification standards of the CSS aspirants to revamp the efficiency of the bureaucracy of Pakistan. The new policy is intended to rope in the best of minds in bureaucratic structure across Pakistan.

CSS aspirants will have to undergo screening tests first before appearing for competitive examinations, said Arbab Shehzad, Adviser to Prime Minister on Establishment Division. The policy change is part of the plan of Prime Minister Imran Khan’s vision to revamp and restructure the civil services of Pakistan.

Adviser asserted that PM Khan’s vision is of transparency, integrity and efficiency-based government as he believed in team-building and teamwork. He informed that PM Khan regularly held cabinet meetings and had constituted different committees and task forces for policy formation through stakeholder engagements.

Moreover, the federal government has also finalized the posting of 35 out of 65 heads of departments and corporations. The federal government also decided to provide specialized training to civil servants and non-cadre officers.

Promotion of officers would be dependent on training and it is estimated that 6000 civil servants and 29,000 non-cadre officers will receive the mandatory special training. The non-cadre officers will be divided into subgroups for specialized training relevant to their needs.

Read more: CSS Crisis: FIA reveals FPSC made rules difficult without approval

PTI government is also mulling over the introduction of tenure posting. A Federal Minister would analyze the performance of appointed officers in six months, after which decisions would be taken keeping in view their performance based on merit.

He said that in 17 ministries, there was a need for technical advisers and many of the appointments had been made and ministers had been authorized to carry out these postings.

Last month, FIA had presented a report, which claimed that the Amendments in the Central Superior Services rules and regulations were made without seeking approval of the government.

FIA asserted that the board introduced changes in the rules for appearing without apprising the federal government in 2013. As per the new rules, candidates were acquired to score 33% in optional subjects and 50% in compulsory subjects. Consequently, the passing ratio dropped and several seats were left vacant. This year, only 3% of candidates were able to clear the competitive examinations.

Prime Minister Imran Khan tightened the screw of the bureaucracy of Pakistan ever since he assumed the power. Last week, PTI Punjab Chief Ijaz Chaudhry lamented that the bureaucracy is not cooperating with them attributing the rift to the strong affiliation with the preceding government and fear of accountability within bureaucrats.