Quota system in civil service: An unjust solution

The preliminary test result of 34th BCS examination was recently published and has resulted in controversy, and mass disappointment, amongst the candidates. This year, the quota system was applied during the preliminary test, a change from previous years. The idea of the quota is already under dispute. In the BCS, 55% of seats are allocated for candidates who fall under quota, and 45% are for general students under meritocratic recruitment. Merit is virtually disregarded for quota holders, and this is unfair to the majority of students. There are quotas for freedom fighters’ children, women, indigenous people, etc. And the grades achieved can vary substantially between a passed quota holder and an unsuccessful general candidate.
 

The exam has three phases. The first stage is preliminary exam, consisting of multiple-choice questions that test variety of knowledge. The second is the written exam, which tests the capability of the candidates to express their views. The last one is viva Voce and that tests the adaptive and situational skills of potential candidates. The final stage is a background and security check. The government one of the largest institutions of the country, provides qualified persons through the BPSC (and thus through the BCS examination system) to the justice department, foreign cadre, police, tax and audit, and the different ministries. The government also oversees monopoly some utilities such as electricity, water and gas. Moreover, in every sector government has some business concerns like banks, insurances, telecoms and so forth.

To run this whole apparatus, the most important thing required is merit and excellence of staff. In the age of a market economy, diplomacy and competition, it is very hard to remain competitive and that is the exact reason quality, competence and excellence of the government personnel is needed. But the system of quota runs contrary to the above. Let’s have an in-depth look at the quota systems from both the government and general perspective. It is understandable that the quota system was inducted to mitigate inequalities among the citizens of our country. But this original reason has become outdated. The job of the government includes, but is not limited to, assisting indigenous people, who lag behind others, through the tribal quota of 5%, to pave the way of woman empowerment by reserving 20% for the ladies and to honor the memory of the freedom fighters and to recompense their family for their heroics through a quota of 30%. This system has opportunity costs. The government is losing the best possible workforce, and are instead employing less qualified people in highly challenging positions. That deprived meritorious workforce joins the private sector and are competing against public sector organisations. Consequently public ventures are becoming less profitable, as they lack qualified staff and management. The examples are apparent when one compares private banks and public banks or the telecommunications companies like Teletalk and Grameen Phone. Most of the public concerns are becoming backbenchers in the long term. The multinationals (MNCs) are using local talent and grabbing profits of public companies, and ultimately a large portions of the profits are siphoned away from the country. In another case, less qualified people in governmental jobs cannot compete with their counterparts in India, the US, or Europe in international negotiations where quality, competence and efficiency are regarded as resources, and are given highest priority. So, from a simple calculation we can clearly see that the government is losing much from quota system.

Instead of enforcing quota system, there are several other ways where the government can provide benefits to the quota holders. There are lots of non-cadre jobs which would be suitable for quota holders that would provide steady income and address inequality. Meanwhile the BPSC should reduce the quotas to 20%, and recommend that the government utilise the best human resources in the nation, in the best interests of the nation. If women and minorities are given the opportunity to go to school, college and university, then gender equality and empowerment will come about naturally and the quota will not be needed. BPSC, the government’s recruiting agency, should contemplate publicising the threshold marks in every phase of examination to make the whole process transparent, formulating a protocol where candidates can only apply to several posts that are compatible with their academic background, for example where an accounting major can apply only for audits and accounts, and tax cadres, candidates with a major in political science, international relations or public administration, can apply only for BCS administration, police and foreign affairs. That is only how the government can implement specialisation and can get the best service.

BPSC must shun any kind of political manipulation and influence in this highly important recruitment process. It is high timeto bring the entire system under scrutiny, and being it in line with international best practices so as to reap the highest benefit. Against this backdrop, if the government annuls the quota system then obviously some stakeholders will be disappointed, but it should be remembered that government’s responsibility is not to take a popular decision, but to take the right decision, which will best serve the attainment of the country's collective interests. 

The article has been published in The Dhaka Tribune/ Op-ed/ July 14, 2013

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Quotas in civil service: A too populist system

In most developing countries, the government is probably the largest employer with set rules and structured procedures for recruitments at various levels. In Bangladesh, the most prestigious public recruitment is that of the class one officers, commonly known as cadre employees. The recruitments are made through Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination, conducted by the Bangladesh public service commission (BPSC). Very lately, the results of the preliminary test of 34th BCS have been published where a serious controversy has arisen among the candidates. It is found that the system of quota has been applied at the preliminary level of the test which was unprecedented until the current examination. The idea of quota has been a matter of discontent among many candidates for long. 

The reason can be well understood from the fact that 55 per cent of the posts are reserved for candidates under quota, while the remaining 45 per cent for candidates competing on the criterion of merit. Merit is virtually disregarded in case of those selected under quota and that is indeed frustrating for the majority of the candidates. The BCS exam has three phases. The first phase is the preliminary exam -- MCQ in nature. The second phase is the written test, and the last and final phase is viva voce. If everything comes out positively for the candidate through out the three phases, then he or she is through subject to police verification.

Since the government apparatus is the highest authority and largest institution of the country, candidates selected through the BCS exam should in all fairness be highly competent in order to be able to dispense important public functions from the very beginning of their career as civil servants. It is invariably so in case of all the posts, irrespective of the cadres. But the system of quota negates this very perception. It is understandable that the rationale of the introduction of quotas in civil service recruitment is to mitigate to a certain extent some prevailing social inequalities as well as empowerment of some sections of the society, such as women, tribal people etc. But the rationale has already lost some of its justifications and has become pointless in course of time. The job of the government includes welfare of all citizens and at the same time it has also to look after the special needs of people who lag behind. It is this consideration that has led to the concept of reserved quotas: tribal quota 5 per cent, woman quota 10 per cent and freedom fighter 30 per cent. Needless to say, experiences over the past decades reflect that this system has some opportunity costs.

The government is losing the best workforce and instead employing some less qualified people in responsible positions. It may sound a bit harsh but given the realities, we feel that there should be a reduction in the existing quotas, say to 20 per cent. Understandably, such a move may not be very well received, but we must not forget that this country is paying heavily on account of populist policies of the successive governments. Besides, in order to make the recruitment process more transparent, the BPSC should contemplate on publishing the results along with the marks obtained in each phase of the BCS examination, and introducing a system whereby candidates can only apply for posts compatible with their academic background.

For example, candidates with accounting major will apply only for audits & accounts and tax cadre, candidates with majors in political science, international relations and public administration can apply for administration, police and foreign affairs. 

That is how the government can implement specialisation and get the best service. BPSC must have to shun any kind of political manipulation and influence in this highly important recruitment process. It is high time to bring the entire system under scrutiny and to update it according to the standard practices followed in other countries.

 

This article has been published in The Financial Express/Views & Opinion/ July 13, 2013

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Rana Plaza tragedy: The issue of taking foreign help in rescue operation

The unfortunate and deadly factory collapse at Savar occurred on April 24 and the death toll is now set to cross 900. Another 500 are considered missing as per a guesstimate of rescuers assigned there. Around 3,500 workers were in the building before it collapsed. Building owner Sohel Rana, a powerful companion of local MP, forced the workers to return to work inside the Rana Plaza in spite of knowing the risks of collapse. In the first response after the incident, the common people of Savar rushed immediately to rescue the people trapped under debris. This was a nine-storey building which foundered suddenly from the level three. But it showed an ominous sign of visible cracks on the day before the collapse but was ignored by the building and factory owners. A bank branch in the level two, however, instantly evacuated its staffs and documents fearing the impending collapse. After the accident, the government swung into action immediately by assigning the Fire Brigade, the Army, the Rapid Action Battalion and the police with available logistics to rescue the trapped workers where common people assisted them with their fullest capacity. The whole Savar tragedy was telecast live by the satellite channels and the entire country was glued to the TV sets in utter shock. 

The collapse of 'Rana Plaza' in Savar is the most terrific building disaster in the country's history, which was not seen before. The rescuers lacked the required tools and equipment which were necessary to save people. Many organisations from Dhaka had collected blood, saline, oxygen and dry foods for the survivors. But the rescue mission was slow due to dearth of equipment and because of the horrible condition of crash and rubble where the accidental fire under the debris further debilitated the situation. On April 28, the UK-based The Telegraph reported that Great Britain along with some other countries offered rescue assistance to the Bangladesh government with teams of experienced rescuers and heavy lifting equipment. But Bangladesh rejected the offer as per the report. However, no official statement is still available from the government side. Later on April 30, the BBC also reported the same by quoting Home Minister MK Alamgir. The Telegraph claimed on the basis of a diplomatic source that it has documents which substantiate the communication with the Bangladesh Foreign and Home Ministries. Even it stated in its report that officials were due to deploy heavy machinery to clear the rubble away… having decided survivors would not last more than 72 hours. But after a public backlash, they delayed the plan, as more people were pulled out alive and yet more cries from survivors could be heard." But the rescue mission, led by the Bangladesh Army asserted that it did not go for massive operations, now going on, to lift the pile of rubbles before confirming the possibility of rescuing one more worker no matter how tough it would be.

There were tens of thousands of people in the crashed spot of Savar including newspaper reporters, social activists, political groups, students, human rights organisations and local people but none questioned the efforts of the rescuers. But all of them were worried over the scarcity of equipment and technologies. It is not confirmed how fruitful it would have been had the expert rescuers from abroad come to the place of collapse. But if the report of the government's rejection was true, then it is certainly unfortunate. This proves the government's diplomatic naivety. This is because, the common people and the relatives of the dead and the survivors do not always expect miracles to happen. What they expected are recovery of bodies not decomposed, easy to recognise them. Expert rescuers know very well the techniques to recover the survivors and when infrastructures collapse whether from an earth tremor or another cause, they know how to pull people out alive. Mark Doyle, an analyst of BBC spoke of the incidents of Haiti and Japan where they accepted foreign assistance at the time of earthquake and tsunami. In fact, hundreds of rescuers converged on Haiti after the 2010 earthquake and also Japan, a far richer country, accepted substantial help after its earthquake and tsunami in 2011. If foreign rescuers were to be deployed then it would have been more focused in international media and would be a wakeup call for the non-compliant factory owners. Bangladesh is a garment exporting country with the lowest wage rate roughly around 40 USD per month at a time when the factory owners are substantially wealthy.

It is actually very tough to take decision when to stop looking for a few remaining trapped people and concentrate resources on the survivors. The media always create a pressure on the government and so do the relatives of the affected. According to a BBC report, the average time for the switch is between five and seven days, but individuals have been known to survive as long as 13 days of being trapped if they have access to water. Usually, the co-coordinating rescue team, the UN and the host country take the decision of stopping the rescue operation. 

The huge casualties under 'Rana Plaza' are a real tragedy, not merely an accident. Lax regulation, ineffective labour union and utter negligence of the blue-collar workers contributed to this mishap. The apparels industry, worth 19 billion USD, stands on the contribution of almost four million workers, most of whom are women. But it is observed that no authority including the government and the Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association has a good level of attention for the safety and well-being of these workers. And lastly, it is proved that the government and also the private sector lack adequate and suitable equipment to face such a tragic situation. To our utter shock, every year the government fails to raise targeted income from tax due to rampant corruption of its officials but there is no money enough to arrange equipment for rescue operations. It is unfortunate.

[The Financial Express/Views & Previews/May 10, 2013]

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