Adopting Meritocracy in Bangladesh Civil Service (bcs) Cadre Recruitment

Minister brief

Minister for Public Administration

Adopting meritocracy in Bangladesh civil service (BCS) cadre recruitment 

Purpose

1. To recommend you establish meritocracy in BCS cadre recruitment by rationalizing the existing quota dominant recruitment policy.

Background

2. The recruitment of the most meritorious people in public bureaucracy has received increased attention across the world for effective, efficient and competitive government service delivery.

3. Meritocracy in BCS cadre recruitment is being greatly undermined by the quota dominant recruitment policy which is one of the fundamental reasons why Bangladesh public service is underperforming. Candidates from merit category who secure above 60% marks in recruitment tests are usually selected where as quota-privileged candidates are selected if they can secure only pass marks (40%).

4. BCS cadres are the class-1 officers (elite group) who are the key human resource of the state bureaucracy. Currently, 56% posts of BCS cadre recruitment are reserved for different groups through quotas such as freedom fighters’ children quota (30%), women quota (10%), district quota (10%), tribal quota (5%) and physically challenged quota (1%). The rest 44% is allotted for merit category.

5. The contextual reality for which quota provision was adopted in BCS cadre recruitment in newly independent Bangladesh in 1972 is no longer existed. Although some changes were brought in the quota system at different times, it is highly incongruent with the country’s present scenario.

6. This brief presents the issues linked to the existing quota policy in BCS cadre recruitment in order to frame the rationality of the policy revision in favour of merit. It formulates one possible option of existing quota revision and recommends forming an advisory committee to work on it for finalizing.

Issues

7. Legal issue: The constitution of Bangladesh has recognized both merit and quota in civil service recruitment. Article 29 (1) proclaims “there shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in respect of employment or office in the service of the Republic”. Accordingly, all citizens will have the equal employment opportunity in the republic of Bangladesh.  However, article 29(3) has given the special privilege of employment for the backward sections of citizens for their adequate representation which is the ultimate basis of quota system. But why most part of the quota system under this constitutional clause is now unconstitutional is analysed below:

First, the special privilege of backward sections is mentioned as an exception in the constitution and therefore the predominance of quota in BCS cadre recruitment is against the constitutional spirit of equal opportunity mentioned in article 29(1).

Second, quota was adopted for the backward people in the newly emerging independent Bangladesh as an affirmative measure. All contemporary relevant research delineate that after 44 years of independence the necessity of quota has become mostly obsolete as the country context has now changed. Most quota categories are no more considered as backwards.

Third, the reservation of 30% posts for the children of freedom fighters quota was first introduced for the freedom fighters as gratitude and sympathy for their contribution in liberation war. Afterwards, when no more freedom fighters were found to be eligible for civil service due to their age factor, this quota is reserved for their children. However, this measure has no constitutional basis unless they are verified to be disadvantageous. Surprisingly, there is no provision or mechanism in the recruitment process to prove whether the beneficiaries are disadvantageous. The statistics shows that majority of freedom fighters and their offspring recruited in civil service belong to the privilege section of the society.

8. Irrational quota distribution: Why the quotas are irrationally allocated stated below:

First, the total number of freedom fighters is 200,000 which is 0.12% of the total population. So the reservation of 30% posts for the children of this 0.12% people is absolutely irrational and discrimination against the rest of the population. Similarly, indigenous people constitute 1.5% of total population in Bangladesh where 5% reserved posts for them is also irrational. Moreover, the largest tribal group Chakmas make up 20% of total tribal population, who are economically advanced and their literacy rate (75%) is above the country’s average literacy rate (64%). Hence, the inclusion of Chakmas in the tribal quota not only undermines the constitutional provision noted above but also limits the opportunity of the rest 44 small tribal groups who are really disadvantageous.  

Second, 10% posts for district quota were introduced when Bangladesh had 17 districts for ensuring the representation of people from all corners of the country. Now though there are 64 districts in the country, the same 10% posts are distributed among these districts. A district with big population has more posts and vice versa. Significantly, relatively disadvantageous districts with small population size are having inconsiderable number of posts and even no post in some cases. Moreover, research finds that the majority of the recruited candidates under district quota are neither from disadvantaged group, nor studied in their respective district they have been selected for.

Third, 10% posts are reserved for women in order to enhance their representation in the civil service. However, this quota also needs to be revised. Data from Public Service Commission (PSC) reveals that university graduates are mostly recruited as BCS cadre officials. Students in universities are selected on merit where there is no quota for female students. And presently as per University Grant Commission, almost equal percentages of male and female students are getting admission into the universities. Significantly, female students are showing better performance both in university results and afterwards in BCS cadre recruitment tests. Therefore, the reservation 10% female quota considering them as disadvantaged is undreaming their merit and capacity.  

9. Politically sensitive freedom fighter quota: Recent data reveals that the prevailing freedom fighter children quota is outdated in the present country context. The numbers of reserved posts are often higher than the number of quota candidates. For instance, In 20th BCS 843 posts were reserved (30% of total positions) for the freedom fighter children but only 143 candidates were found to be competent. The remaining positions were vacant since there is no provision to be filled up such vacant positions from merit category. Nevertheless, no government so far takes initiative to abolish or rationalize this quota because of the issue of freedom fighter is politically sensitive. Notably, Bangladesh became independent in 1971 after 9 months long bloody war against Pakistan. The people who fought for the liberation are the freedom fighters, the heroes of the nation. Therefore, every incumbent government thinks that if they amend this quota that might be recognized as anti-liberation attempt. Every major political party tries to prove themselves as the only possessor of the spirit of liberation while their counterparts are anti-liberation force.