Reform commission to propose exams for promotions to deputy, joint secretaries

The Public Administration Reform Commission has decided to recommend promotions to the posts of deputy secretary and joint secretary through examinations.

Additionally, the commission is set to propose that 50% of promotions to the post of deputy secretary be allocated to officials from the administration cadre and the remaining 50% to officials from other cadres.

The commission will also recommend ending the police verification system for government jobs.

Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, head of the commission, and Md Mokhles ur Rahman, senior secretary to the public administration ministry and member secretary of the commission, shared these developments during a view-exchange meeting with journalists covering the Bangladesh Secretariat yesterday.

Currently, 75% of promotions to the post of deputy secretary come from the administration cadre, with 25% allocated to other cadres.

The commission head said the commission will recommend transforming the education and health cadres into specialised divisions while also upgrading Cumilla and Faridpur to divisions.

Regarding promotions to the positions of deputy secretary and joint secretary, Chowdhury emphasised that no one will receive a promotion without passing an examination.

"The Bangladesh Public Service Commission will conduct these exams. If candidates fail to secure at least 70 marks, they will not be promoted. The examinations will be held in two stages, and only those who pass can advance to the next level," he said.

Chowdhury added, "If a customs cadre officer scores the highest marks in the examination, he will top the list for promotion to deputy secretary."

Need for distinct, specialised divisions 

Speaking of the need for specialisation within the cadre service, Chowdhury elaborated, "We are recommending that the health and education cadres be transformed into separate, specialised divisions. An ophthalmologist, a dentist and a general physician—can they all be promoted together? It is unreasonable to treat these two fields as general cadres."

They need to be distinct and specialised divisions. Except for health and education, other cadres can remain as they are. This is what is being currently discussed, he continued.

For his part, Senior Secretary Mokhles ur Rahman said, "Our Judicial Service Commission has already been separated from the Public Service Commission. Similarly, we will suggest separating the education and health cadres, which will result in significant segmentation, forming five clusters with the remaining cadres."

He said a key recommendation of the commission will be to upgrade Faridpur and Cumilla into administrative divisions. This proposal reflects the demands of those regions.

Rahman explained, "To create these new divisions, one or two districts will need to be allocated to each. We have mapped it out, and a glance at the map will clarify which districts will fall under the ten proposed divisions.

"Not all divisions have been affected; we have adjusted Dhaka, Mymensingh and Chattogram to accommodate Cumilla, Faridpur and Mymensingh as separate divisions. The proposal has been submitted to the government for consideration. If the government decides to establish ten divisions, this framework will support that."

Student representative's comments spark uproar 

During the exchange of views with journalists, an uproar erupted over statements made by Mehedi Hasan, a student representative on the Public Administration Reform Commission, and Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury.

Mehedi, a fourth-year student of Public Administration at Jagannath University, said, "As a member of this commission, I have been listening to field-level officials and the public for the past one and a half months. This experience has made me realise that, no matter what I do in life, I will not sit BCS exams.

"The way deputy secretaries, joint secretaries and deputy commissioners treat their senior officials... Those whom we call public servants are not servants of the people; they are servants of their seniors. Their inferiority complex is so pervasive that I doubt they will function effectively. Seeing this has destroyed my desire to join the BCS."

He continued, "I am disappointed because you journalists, who have spoken extensively about public administration, have overlooked certain aspects. There has been a deficiency in understanding the issues around public administration reform."

Angered by his remarks, the journalists demanded clarification, with one of them asking, "What deficiency do you mean?" 

Mehedi replied, "The first question you should have asked is why, in these 50 years, the 23 reform commissions formed previously have failed to deliver meaningful results."

The journalists countered, saying they had raised these issues repeatedly. As tensions escalated, many journalists stood up in protest, demanding that Mehedi apologize. 

Amidst the uproar, he attempted to continue, saying, "Please let me finish." However, the chaos prevented him from speaking further.

At this point, Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury intervened, saying, "You are accusing someone who is still a student. It is not possible for him to fully know the situation. He has been part of this movement. He even served a jail term. They are the ones who led this movement, not us."

The journalists strongly protested his statement. 

"Sir, you cannot say this. We took part in this movement. Our colleagues were injured, some were killed and many of us could not even sleep at home. Several of us served jail time," said a journalist.

Chowdhury attempted to explain but was repeatedly interrupted. He clarified, "You went to cover the movement, which is why you were in front of police bullets and faced injuries. That is why you were hurt or killed."

This statement further agitated the journalists. 

One of them added, "We were not just covering the movement—we were part of it. If we had done nothing, how would the world have known about this movement? While government officials and employees now enjoy increased benefits after the coup, what role did they play?" 

As the journalists continued protesting, they demanded that Mehedi apologise before speaking again. Mehedi said, "If any of my words have hurt you, I am sorry."

He then elaborated, "In 80 years, Bangladesh has seen four major revolutions aimed at achieving change, yet meaningful change has not happened. The movement in 2024 has created a new opportunity. My point was, why should this commission be like the previous 23 failed ones? Why can't this commission play a greater role?"

He added, "Countries like Malaysia, Singapore and South Korea have successfully transformed themselves, yet Bangladesh still struggles. My question was why these critical issues are not being addressed.

Sirs have mentioned that promotions will now be through examinations. If I were in your place, I would have asked, why won't promotions be based on performance? Irregularities in the ACR (Annual Confidential Report) system remain a major problem."