When the East Pakistan Province of Pakistan emerged as independent and sovereign Bangladesh in 1971, the civil service system introduced by the British in the Indian sub-continent and inherited by Pakistan, continued in Bangladesh under Laws Continuance Enforcement Order dated, Mujibnagar, April 10, 1971. The predecessors of Bangladesh Civil Service -- the British Indian Civil Service, All Pakistan Services, the Central Superior Services of Pakistan and the East Pakistan Civil Service -- were regarded as efficient and effective. The members of these services were recruited through well-conceived recruitment policies. It needs no repetition that a sound recruitment policy puts premium on merit rather than on any other consideration. But the then government recruited in 1973 a large number of bureaucrats from amongst the freedom fighters without properly going through the Public Service Commission's (PSC) long established procedure of recruitment.

Again, in the early eighties the then government recruited a large number of magistrates through condensed examination to man the newly created Upazilas. A government notification dated, the 7th December, 1982 says that 'the government may make appointment to the Bangladesh Civil Service (Administrative) for one time recruitment to the post of Magistrate specified in the Schedule on the basis of test in the following: (a) Viva voce: 200 marks; (b) psychological test and intelligence test: 100 marks. The age limit of the candidates for appointment to the aforesaid post of Magistrate was fixed between 21 and 50 years.' The core element for selection of suitable persons in the service of the Republic was done away with in both the above cases. These officers are now holding the posts of deputy secretary and above in different ministries.

Secondly, the Prime Minister rightly pointed out that there was no alternative to training and building up talents, skills and knowledge-based administrative mechanism, and she thus asked the authorities concerned to ensure formulation and implementation of training programmes for the newly recruited officers as part of human resource development. But our training programmes and follow-up actions suffer from certain weaknesses. Presently, the newly recruited officers of different cadre services jointly undergo foundation training at the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Institute (BPATC), which is followed by training at the institute/academy of the respective cadre service. Since the seniority of the officers of a particular batch is determined by the PSC on the basis of marks obtained in the written examinations and viva-voce at the initial point of entry into the service, they do not take these trainings seriously.

Further, for promotion to the posts of joint secretary and additional secretary, the officers at the level of deputy secretary and joint secretary are required to successfully complete, respectively, the advanced course on administrative development and the senior staff course. But instances are there to prove that some officers have been promoted to these posts without their participation in these courses. In the absence of effective linkage between promotion and training, the officers at the aforementioned levels do not take these training courses seriously.

Thirdly, disposal of business in a ministry is teamwork. The secretary of a ministry has to provide leadership to the team. He has to provide guidance to his deputy secretaries and joint secretaries as to how a policy paper, a summary for the Cabinet or any other important paper has to be prepared. Since the secretaries have to shoulder the highest bureaucratic responsibilities, those officers who have gained sufficient experience in the posts of joint secretary and additional secretary or in equivalent posts and have satisfactory service records should be given the charge of secretary. If my memory does not fail, there is no instance to show that between mid-seventies and mid-nineties any officer belonging to the erstwhile All Pakistan Services, the Central Superior Services of Pakistan or the East Pakistan Civil Service was made secretary-in-charge before serving in the post of joint secretary or in equivalent post(s) for at least seven years and for a year or more in the post of additional secretary or in equivalent post(s). But in recent days, this principle is rarely followed. The government must not forget that there is no substitute for experience.

Fourthly, there is widespread allegation that promotions to the posts of joint secretary and above have been highly politicised. There are instances of large-scale supersession of the seniors by the juniors allegedly on political considerations. This has not only led to heart-burning of the former but also discouraged them to discharge their assigned duties sincerely.

Fifthly, under the Bangladesh Civil Services (Reorganisation) Order, 1980 the erstwhile Central Secretariat Service (CSS) and the East Pakistan Secretariat Service (EPSS) were grouped together and termed BCS (Secretariat). The CSS, one of the Central Superior Services of Pakistan, was created in the early 1960s in order to increase efficiency and sustain continuity in the working of the central secretariat. The young and brilliant boys and girls having university degrees were appointed to this service through the combined central superior services examinations conducted by the Central Public Service Commission. This was replicated in the then East Pakistan through the creation of EPSS. The officers belonging to the BCS (Secretariat) were normally transferred from one ministry to another and in this process they became the storehouse of information on matters relating to transaction of government business and developed their expertise on policy formulation, planning and other areas that are important for top-level management. In 1992 the government, without an in-depth study, yielded to a pressure group's demand to abolish the BCS (Secretariat) cadre and merge it with the BCS (Administration) cadre. This has seriously affected development of expertise and sustenance of continuity in the Bangladesh Secretariat.

Sixthly, very little attention is paid to the career development of officers. Educational background, specialised training, working experience etc. receive little consideration while posting an officer in the ministries. This amounts to misuse of his/her knowledge and expertise.

Seventhly, many officers at the level of deputy secretary and joint secretary are weak in English. This is primarily because of the fact that they received their higher education in Bangla medium. Further, according to existing law, save only that of making correspondence with the foreign countries, development partners or in similar other cases, the officers shall have to use Bangla in their official work. But proficiency in English becomes necessary when a ministry has to (i) prepare its five-year plan, two-year plan, rolling plan; (ii) develop project ideas, project briefs, project concept papers etc. in respect of the projects to be financed by the development partners; (iii) negotiate with the development partners the terms and conditions for financing a project(s); (iv) represent the government in inter-governmental meetings; (v) represent the government in international and regional bodies; and in many other similar cases. In such cases, hiring of consultants has become a normal phenomenon.

To conclude, in a developing country like Bangladesh, highly capable and carefully trained civil servants are required for execution of approved policies, preparation of new policy, formulation and execution of new development pro-grammes, management of international relations etc. The governments will render a great service to the nation if they follow a non-partisan policy for promoting officials to the mid-level and senior level posts in the Bangladesh Secretariat and arrange for extensive training of the civil servants on skill development to prepare them to face the challenges of the 21st century.

M. Abdul Latif Mondal is a former secretary