”Retirement for those who have completed 55 years of age or 30 years of service, proposal for 'reduced entry' into special nature posts, increase open competitive seats by reducing the percentage of internal promotions.”
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The draft of the proposed Civil Service Bill contains a provision for special arrangements for irregular entry for any work of a specific nature in the civil service.
Section 10(14) of the draft Civil Service Bill prepared by the Ministry of Land Management, Cooperatives, Federal Affairs and General Administration contains such a provision. Section 10 contains provisions related to the filling of posts in the Federal Civil Service. Sub-section 14 thereof states that – Notwithstanding anything contained elsewhere in this section, the Government of Nepal may, in consultation with the Public Service Commission, make special arrangements for irregular entry for a specific period in any executive or specialist post of a specific nature in the civil service. Sub-section 15 states that the qualifications, selection method, performance contract, terms and conditions of service and facilities of such a candidate shall be as per the criteria prescribed by the Government of Nepal in consultation with the Public Service Commission.
A joint secretary of the ministry says that such a provision has been made for situations where skilled manpower is urgently needed for a specific task, different from the experience and expertise of the employees in the civil service. He said that there is a proposal to recruit experts like economists and technical manpower for a specific task for a specific period. ‘That too cannot be done by the government itself, it will be done with the involvement of the public service,’ he said, ‘They will not get the same service facilities as civil servants. Their terms and conditions of service will be separate.’
The proposed draft also mentions not only specialist posts but also executive posts. An executive post is considered to be a person who is the head of any office and makes the final decision. The employees are also skeptical about it. It has not been clearly explained. ‘From the head of the office in the district to the secretary of the ministry are considered executive positions,’ said an official from the Ministry of Law, ‘What is the purpose of the ministry in bringing this provision in the draft bill? That needs to be clear.’
He said that according to the established method and process, entry into the civil service posts is not allowed through such a haphazard process. ‘Secretary or joint secretary cannot be brought from outside through a haphazard process,’ said the law official, ‘There are some special projects. If it is a matter of appointing the executive head, there is no need to bring a provision in the Civil Service Act for that.’ He said that discussions with officials from the concerned ministries are necessary regarding the provisions in the draft.
According to the official, if it is a matter of haphazard entry into the civil service posts, then civil servants will naturally be interested in it. He mentioned that many of the provisions brought in the bill appear to be flawed from a constitutional and legal perspective. Officials from the Ministry of Federal Affairs, which is preparing the draft bill or the Ministry of Law, which is conducting its legal review, have refused to give a formal response as the draft bill is still under discussion.
The proposed provision to retire those who have completed 55 years of age or completed 30 years of service has further raised concerns about the provision of early entry into executive positions at a time when the employee class is in turmoil. Saying that there is currently a provision for recruitment on a contract basis for specialist posts, a Federal Affairs official claimed that there is no proposal for early entry for posts within the regular ranks of the civil service as they are called specialist posts and specialists.
Section 57 of the draft contains a proposal regarding compulsory retirement. Its sub-section (1) states that civil servants will get compulsory retirement after completing 60 years of age. However, it is mentioned that employees who have completed 55 years of age or completed 30 years of service at the time of commencement of this Act will get retirement. If this proposal is passed as is, employees who have completed 55 years of age or 30 years of service will get compulsory retirement on the day the act comes into force. There is a proposal that civil servants who have completed 58 years of age in the fiscal year in which the act comes into force will also get retirement. Section 33 of the existing act provides for automatic retirement of civil servants who have completed 58 years of age.
Similarly, the tenure of the Chief Secretary of the 14th level Special Category has been fixed for 2 years. Section 24 contains provisions regarding the tenure of the Gazetted Special Category employee. The tenure of the Secretary of the 13th level Special Category has been fixed for 3 years. The tenure of the Chief Secretary and Secretary in the existing Civil Service Act is 3 and 5 years respectively.
It has been said that the age of 18 years should be completed for entry into non-gazetted or assistant level posts in the civil service and 21 years should be completed for officer level posts. Similarly, the old provision that male candidates should not have exceeded 35 years of age and female candidates should not have exceeded 40 years of age has been maintained. The provision in the existing act that a person not exceeding 40 years of age can be a candidate for a post in the federal civil service designated as an ex-serviceman or police officer has been continued.
Section 10(c)(1) of the Civil Service Act, 2049 mentions that a person not exceeding 40 years of age can be a candidate for a post in the civil service designated as an ex-serviceman or police officer. A joint secretary involved in the drafting process said that since some posts in the civil service are for people who have undergone security training and former security personnel can be recruited for such posts, an age limit has been fixed for them. He mentioned that such a provision has been made since before.
Similarly, it has been proposed to increase the number of posts filled through open competition by reducing the percentage of internal promotions in higher posts in the civil service. The draft also opens the way for employees to compete for higher posts in the union through adjustments at the provincial and local levels. Now, 40 percent of the posts at the deputy secretary level have been opened through open competition. Currently, 10 percent of the seats are reserved for open competition.
It is proposed that 40 percent of the vacant posts of deputy secretary will be filled through open competition, 10 percent through inter-level competition, and 50 percent through promotion. At the eleventh level of joint secretary, it is proposed that 10 percent of the posts will be filled through open competition, 20 through inter-level competition, and 70 percent through promotion. Currently, 10 percent are promoted through open competition, 20 through internal competitive examination, and 35 percent through seniority and performance evaluation.
Those who have been adjusted to the provincial civil service or local service will get the opportunity to fill the posts filled through inter-level competition. In the non-gazetted second class assistant fourth post, 80 percent of the posts will now be filled through open competition. Currently, 70 percent is being filled through open competition. It has been said that 10 percent of the posts will be filled through inter-level competition and 10 percent through promotion. For the non-gazetted first class assistant fifth, 40 percent will be filled through open competition, 20 percent through inter-level competition and 40 percent through promotion. It has been mentioned that 70 percent of the posts will be filled through open competition, 10 percent through inter-level competition and 20 percent through promotion for the officer third and seventh levels.
It has been said that if the posts of non-gazetted first class computer operator and computer technician posts and non-gazetted second class assistant computer operator posts fall vacant, permanent posts will not be filled. The objective has also been to reduce the permanent posts in the post of Nayab Subba. The draft states that ‘except for the posts specified by the Government of Nepal by publishing a notice in the Nepal Gazette as the main work, no permanent posts of the fifth category not gazetted will be filled.’
The Nepal Information Technology Service has been included in the Federal Civil Service. This is a new service. Civil servants related to information technology who are in various service posts will be grouped in the Nepal Information Technology Service. Similarly, the draft bill states that employees currently working as assistant computer operators and computer operators will be promoted and career development will be provided as specified in the group under the Information Technology Service based on their current educational qualifications and experience.
In the context of the recruitment and filling of the Federal Civil Service, it has been said that the overall financial situation and administrative expenditure liability should be analyzed and the maximum return should be taken from the minimum manpower. It is mentioned that the organizational structure and recruitment should be reviewed every 5 years.
Section 11 has a provision for making the civil service inclusive. It has been said that 49 percent of the posts to be filled through open competition will be set aside and that percentage will be considered as 100 percent, and 50 percent of the posts will be contested only among women and the remaining 50 percent will be contested among candidates from inclusive groups. Currently, to make the civil service inclusive, 45 percent of the posts to be filled through open competition will be set aside and that percentage will be considered as 100 percent and the percentage of the inclusive group will be set aside. In the inclusive seats, 33 percent have been set aside for women, 27 percent for indigenous people, 22 percent for Madhesis, 9 percent for Dalits, 5 percent for the disabled and 4 percent for backward areas.
In the new proposal, the posts to be contested only among women will be considered as 100 percent and seats will also be distributed according to inclusive groups. It is proposed to allocate 4 percent of the seats reserved for women to Khas Arya 27.7, Adivasi Janajati 25, Madhesi 15, Dalit 12.7, Tharu 6.6, Muslim 4, Backward Class 4 and Persons with Disabilities. The draft proposes to allocate 4 percent of the remaining 50 percent of the seats for inclusion as 100 percent to Adivasi Janajati 32.5, Madhesi 19, Dalit 15, Destitute Khas Arya 10, Tharu 9, Muslim 5, Backward Class 5 and Persons with Disabilities.
