Pakistan

16-year education to be mandatory for CSS exams

Monetisation of benefits, elimination of grades 19 and 21 also on the cards

Shahbaz Rana September 16, 2015

Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal. PHOTO: EXPRESS/ZAFAR ASLAM

ISLAMABAD: As the civil service reforms plan continues to develop, the government has decided to streamline the structure of the service and eliminate superfluous levels while also mandating at least 16 years of education for new candidates seeking careers in civil service.

The final set of recommendations that will be presented to Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif requires candidates who register for the Civil Superior Services (CSS) examinations to have at least 16 years of education. The plan also includes abolition of the Grade 21 post of additional secretary and the Grade 19 post of deputy secretary.

Read: Dwindling prestige of the CSS

At Grade 20 of the Basic Pay Scale (used by the government to determine compensation and rank among bureaucrats), a National Executive Service (NES) Group will be set up through the competitive process. However, the timeline to form the NES remains elusive. The NES will be offered a special salary package besides better career progression.

“There is a need to follow the army model to weed out the deadwoods in bureaucracy,” said Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal. Impressed by the military’s system, Iqbal said the civilian bureaucracy should also think of establishing schools like the Army Public School system, aimed at giving quality education to their children at an affordable price. Iqbal said the purpose of the 16-year education requirement is to improve the quality and standards of the bureaucracy. The maximum age-limit for appearing in the CSS exams has been left unchanged at 28 years.

The government has proposed abolishing the posts of additional secretary and deputy secretary, aimed at reducing the hierarchical structure of the civilian bureaucracy, according to the draft recommendations.

Grade 17 and 18 officers will be section officers, then there will be Grade 20 joint secretaries, followed by the highest Grade 22 of federal secretaries. The government did not explain what will be the fate of existing Grade 21 officers.

There is also a proposal to reduce the size of government by cutting down the number of ministries and divisions.

Another proposal seeks constitutional guarantees under performance contracts for prescribed posting tenures aimed at minimising political influence on the bureaucracy. The government also wants to give due weight to specialisation in the selection of cadres for specific service groups. The selection will be made through cluster examinations of the candidates. This would involve creating special service cadres that include engineers, information technology experts, agriculturists, educationists, health administrators, and financial analysts. Officers will also be provided official laptops.

Read: ‘Urdu should be used for CSS examinations’

There was also a proposal to convene an all parties’ conference on civil service reforms aimed at seeking wider political ownership.

In order to steer the reforms and track implementation, a committee comprising a federal minister and secretaries will meet on a quarterly basis.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 16^th, 2015.

COMMENTS (42)

zeeshan | 8 years ago | Reply CSS needs maturity and on this base the extention in the age limit is inevitable .

s.m.yoysuf | 8 years ago | Reply age limit enhanced specialy secioner advocate/ lawer/solicitor/atorny etc

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Maria Yaseen | 8 years ago | Reply So kindly bring reforms that would be welcomed by all of us. Without any discrimination as such enginerrs and doctors are given priority, they already took seats in govt universities. Try to bring some feasible plans for the betterment of the quality of education as well of the masses.

Ali aziz | 8 years ago | Reply what the heel govt is doing by making 16 years of education compulsory to compete in c.s.s exams. if they want to increase the education age limit should also be increased and is it confirmed . minimum 16 years of education is this conformed now. kindly reply and share your knowledge and opinion. Thankyou

syed & syed | 8 years ago | Reply @Sodomite Even Iranian education system can be quoted. private or government schools have one syllabus examination on the same date and the same paper in every city or village.Education year starts on the same date and vacation too

omer Bashir | 8 years ago | Reply Upper Age Limit should be enhanced to 32 years as it is in other developed contries like UK and australia.

Parvez Ahmed | 8 years ago | Reply Upper age limit should be 30 years

Raham | 8 years ago | Reply Doctors and engineers be stopped from css as they not only occupy seat in professional admission but also cost billions to national exchquer by changing profession late

Hussain Sherdil | 8 years ago | Reply Age limit should be 30 r 32.....

fahi | 8 years ago | Reply Age limit must be 30

Anum | 8 years ago | Reply What about doctors then?

fahad | 8 years ago | Reply Age limit should be at least 30 years...

maha | 8 years ago | Reply upper age limit should be atleast 30 years...

Numan Ashraf | 8 years ago | Reply @Komal I think engineers already have 16 years of education so thay don't have to do masters to take CSS exam.

30 Years | 8 years ago | Reply Increase age limit to 30 years

Muhammad Ibrahim Khan Chamkani | 8 years ago | Reply Let me add one thing here that it won't be an excellent rule if a system should be established for CSS/PMS officers same like for Pak Army as they are promoted on the basis of enternal exams not on the basis of seniority etc!! Morover; as for a colonial rank it's mandatory to attend staff college and have to pass PSC. I suggest so & don't know it whether the readers will be agreed with my this opinion???

syed & syed | 8 years ago | Reply @shahbaz:Mr Ahsan Iqbal is fond of floating controversial ideas. First it was his own views regarding Pak China Corridor now he came up with another brutal brain child.. Why there be a special education institutions for the children of bureaucratizes and ministers This shows his knowledge about armed forces set up. Army recruits candidates educated from any institute. It is not mandatory that cadet school boys will get the job in armed forces. Mr. Ahsan do an Ahsant increase the standards of schools and colleges.

udass | 8 years ago | Reply Y in CSS age limit is not increase if v got 16 year education v have very short duration for applying in CSS and chose sooo plz consider on my request for age

Zeeshan | 8 years ago | Reply Beaurocracy cant establish their own separate school system because in each city there are few officers unlike army. The main issue in the css is its age limit which need to be increased because our system needs mature officers not children.

Saba Ak. | 8 years ago | Reply As the minimum qualification for eligibility in CSS is suggested to be 16 years of education, so the lower age limit should be raised to 24 years instead of 22. Because, hardly one can fullfill the said criterion at the age of 22 or 23. Accordingly, the upper age limit should be elevated to 30 years. Therefore, the age limit must range from 24 to 30 years in parallel to the new reforms.

Bia Mehr | 8 years ago | Reply Is.this applicable for css 2016 ?

Haroon | 8 years ago | Reply They do not even consider pros and cons of their decisions. What they just do is to wake up from bed come to office and anmounce a policy according to their whims or what they dreamed lastnight.

Haroon | 8 years ago | Reply Policy makers do not even contemplate rightly when implementing a policy practically. It is disastrous for such candidates who are preparing for CSS right after their graduation and devoted 2 to 3 years for this purpose sans looking at any other opportunity in other fields.. Such decisions must be taken one to two years before implementation, so every one could cope with such impractical and no-brainer decisions of thoughtless policy-makers

Komal | 8 years ago | Reply Can anyone please let me know that if someone is An Engineer in any field so is that necessary to take Master's degree or equivalent to their required qualification

raider | 8 years ago | Reply what would these peoples reform to produce new "zakota gins". plz go to your home now and leave us alone and let real politicians to come forward instead of corruptions and spin masters.

shahbaz | 8 years ago | Reply I'm disappointed to learn such a stupid proposal floated by Well Educated person like Ahsan Iqbal. ..being CSS Officer,I'm surprised how much misunderstanding people have about basic Structure and problems faced by Bureaucracy. . Regards

aziz | 8 years ago | Reply Make Accounting and Law Compulsory subjects. These subjects relevant to work of all CSS Groups. Then, there will be no need to revise whole system. Reduce the number of Optional subjects also.

Mare | 8 years ago | Reply How about changing the CSS exam itself? It makes no sense at all? We need people in the civil service who are qualified for their job posts instead people who have studied geography will be working an engineering department and a buffoon will be the head of a health service. I mean he may have exceptional aptitude but he/she is still not qualified.

Logitech | 8 years ago | Reply This is bad news for the country. Lateral induction: Family members and favourites of the ruling elite who could not be given MNA/Senitorial seats will be given highly-prized positions in the bureaucracy. National Executive Service (NES) Group: Those bureaucrats who favoured a certain political party instead of being neutral will be awarded by being given this group. This will also mean that the political elite will run the country through its NES puppets. There is no mention of an end to the unrealistically low salary for regular CSS officers. There is also no mention of tenure security, the lack of which PML-N uses to its advantage for getting its dirty work done.

Faizah Mazhar | 8 years ago | Reply Mandating 16 years of education for appearing in the Civil Superior Services examination (CSS) is not the solution of ameliorating the quality and standards of the bureaucracy but for the betterment in this regard, government should make the quality education affordable and accessible for every national of this country so that all the graduates will not be considered as illiterate or uneducated and needed to have Masters degree to be eligible any competitive examination across the country.

Faizah Mazhar | 8 years ago | Reply Mandating 16 years of education for appearing in the Civil Superior Services examination (CSS) is not the solution of ameliorating the quality and standards of the bureaucracy but for the betterment in this regard, government should make the quality education affordable and accessible for every national of this country so that all the graduates will not be considered as illiterate or uneducated and needed to have masters degree to be eligible for any competitive examination.

ashar | 8 years ago | Reply Ahsan Iqbal is an Engineer. He should realize that this is the time to establish Technical Service of Pakistan comprising of qualified Doctors and Engineers having ample provisions for their capacity building so that they may be posted at the places where a technical administrator is required in stead of BA Pass CSS only having an year training in the CSS Academy. These officers are working in Planning departments, Health, and various Engineering departments having no background knowledge of ENgg or Medicine and hence there is no significant improvement on the technical sectors over the period of years with present set of bureaucracy leading the affairs of these particular departments.

Haider | 8 years ago | Reply The best thing they can do is to increase the minimum age to 35 for appearing in CSS exam .. currently a graduate has to rush for CSS preparation just after passing bachelors... there should also be ban on CSS for Engineers and Doctors coming from Government Universities so that where government has spent millions on a professional graduate don't go down the drain.. and asset is spent where due.. Or if a professional graduate wants to appear in CSS he/ she should surrender the amount spent on him along-with accrued interest!.

Waqar khan | 8 years ago | Reply Can anyone tell me that is this decision applicable for PMS also ??

Ansar | 8 years ago | Reply It means that only a bureaucrat's son, an Army officer's son or high class families will be allowed to take part in CSS examination, b/c most of the really talanted normal middle class and lower class people give up their lives at bachelors level just to earn for their basic needs. These so called mf__ Ministers and bureaucrates dont even care about Pakistan and its people. Ahsan Iqbal should boost up the education system and follow the Unity, Faith and Descipline policy. This proposal is not more than a trash and its place is trash bin not the PM's table.

Waqas Madni | 8 years ago | Reply Why civil bureaucracy need separate schooling system. They are part of our country...our govt. should maintain the decorum of our Govt. Schools that no body would like to go in APS or any other Private school....because Army provide discounts to their officers but not to civilians same would happen if govt. would establish civilian bureaucracy school then again this would facilitate any particular portion not the normal civilian, who is bearing all weight on his/her shoulders...Govt. is like an extra luggage on civilian's shoulder and we are feeding them.

Myra Gill | 8 years ago | Reply One, I suggest the age limit be increased. The need it to take professionals into the bureaucratic system and not kids. I do not understand how the placements are done. A person with accounts dept head the agricultural division. Someone with a BBA or MBA degree works at forestry. How can these departments improve and perform if they have irrelevant people heading them.

Saba | 8 years ago | Reply There should increase in the age limit from 28 to 30 , if 16 years of education is mandatory to sit in the CSS exams.

Sodomite | 8 years ago | Reply This is all hot air. In a country were even successful CSS exam candidates cannot write a one page essay or make a one page precis of 10,000 word article, then all this extra screening is going to accomplish nothing. Pakistan needs to start giving quality education from childhood as they do in Singapore, Korea and Japan. Even the British education model is excellent. Then put these youngsters through their paces and see what kind of people the CSS can produce. That's the answer. Not "plagiarist Professors" and fake degree holder politicians and bureaucrats can offer any progress. Our system is the product of Govt abdication of education for the last 50 years. They first attacked missionary schools, then the use of English language and now I see colleges and universities on 10 marla plots all over the country. Go figure that HEC??

khan420 | 8 years ago | Reply Bureaucrats are the prime beneficiaries of current system. In the past, they were able to "neutralize" and use such reform efforts for their own benefits. For example, when a policy was developed to monetize the official vehicles, they not only took the money for vehicle but also vehicles, in the guise of being heads of development projects. Lets see how do they torpedo this effort.

Old Ravian | 8 years ago | Reply Bureaucrats are the prime beneficiaries of current system. In the past, they were able to "neutralize" and use such reform efforts for their own benefits. For example, when a policy was developed to monetize the official vehicles, they not only took the money for vehicle but also vehicles, in the guise of being heads of development projects. Lets see how do they torpedo this effort.

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