“Act first, think later.” If the Punjab government’s motto for modernization were to be described in a small phrase, it would be this. Throughout the past few years, new projects and systems have been proudly introduced by the administration without first ensuring their prerequisites. The most recent example is the e-FOAS system, which has digitalized the official filing system of the government without training the departmental staff.
According to the Punjab Information Technology Board (PITB), for the first time in the history of the province, the Civil Secretariat has been updated by making it a part of the e-FOAS system whereby all government departments will be legally bound to carry out departmental correspondence through paperless filing. In this regard, Chief Secretary Punjab Zahid Akhtar Zaman has directed secretaries of all departments to provide comprehensive records and lists of existing files to PITB teams, who will digitally scan the archive files in a central IT room. The scanning process should be completed by March next year.
Where the Punjab government’s decision to go paperless through the e-Filing and Office Automation System (E-FOAS) is estimated to save billions of rupees annually, a large number of officers and employees of the Punjab Civil Secretariat remain unprepared for the new filing system since they have not been trained to operate the digital technology. Reportedly, more than 5,000 officers and employees have not been trained by the Management and Professional Development Department and the Information Technology Board, raising concerns about their job security and the efficiency of the new filing system. Furthermore, the state also does not have an effective system to preserve government records.
According to Chairman Punjab Employees Coordination Council Raja Sohail Ahmed, e-FOAS was a good system if the required technological resources were made available. “For this, computers are mandatory, but they are often not available to all officers. Moreover, file work experts including stenographers, private secretaries and personal assistants have not been given effective training. Additionally, e-FOAS access is only up to the rank of additional secretary and deputy secretary while the section officer and the staff below him do not have any access in this regard,” noted Ahmed, who further highlighted the need to properly store state records for the future.
“In developed countries, the file is taken as a hard copy and unless the relevant record is hard copied, that record cannot be considered complete. Government records must be preserved from generation to generation however, no mechanism has been put in place by the government in this case. Moreover, staff should be trained in e-FOAS to improve the coordination within the department. At present, only computer operators and IT assistants are being trained, while other staff are being ignored,” revealed Punjab Civil Secretariat Employees Association Secretary, Chaudhry Ghulam Ghaus.
Haji Muhammad Irshad Chaudhry, President of the All-Pakistan Clerks Association, believed that no work could be completed without file work in government offices. “Clerical staff has to be trained for noting and drafting. If the government ignores the clerical staff and employs people associated with the IT sector, it will discourage the officers. Therefore, the government should include the clerical staff in the new e-FOAS system by offering them the required training,” said Chaudhry.
On the other hand, Syed Imtiaz-ul-Hassan, Deputy Director Public Relations, Chief Secretary Punjab revealed that the Punjab government was following an austerity policy, under which all provincial cabinet meetings were now paperless.
Speaking to the Express Tribune, Muhammad Waseem Bhatti, Director General at the Government Digital Services Wing, claimed that shutting down the traditional filing system was expected to save billions of rupees while the implementation of e-FOAS would improve governance and service delivery.
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