ANALYSIS AND CRITICISM OF THE QUOTA SYSTEM IN BANGLADESH CIVIL SERVICE

ANALYSIS AND CRITICISM OF THE QUOTA SYSTEM IN BANGLADESH CIVIL SERVICE By Md. Sarowar A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of LL.B. (Honours) Stamford University Bangladesh

Supervised By

Fowjia Akhter Senior Lecturer

February, 2016

DEPARTMENT OF LAW STAMFORD UNIVERSITY BANGLADESH

ANALYSIS AND CRITICISM OF THE QUOTA SYSTEM IN BANGLADESH CIVIL SERVICE By Md. Sarowar LLB 04807919 Department of Law

A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of LL.B. (Honours) Stamford University Bangladesh

Supervised By

Fowjia Akhter Senior Lecturer February, 2016

DEPARTMENT OF LAW STAMFORD UNIVERSITY BANGLADESH

LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL To

Fowjia Akhter Senior Lecturer Department of Law Stamford University Bangladesh Subject: Submission of thesis paper. Dear Madam, It is a great pleasure for me that, I have the opportunity to submit the project and dissertation report on “Analysis and Criticism of the Quota System in Bangladesh Civil Service” which you assigned to me as a requirement of LL.B program. I have prepared my report on the basis of related enactments, documents, interview and examine relevant records for preparation of this report. It is great pleasure for me to present you this report under the head of on this topic. If you have any further enquiry concerning any additional information I would be very pleased to clarify that. I shall be highly encouraged if you are kind enough to receive this report. Sincerely yours, _____________________ Md.Sarowar LL.B 04807919 Department of Law Stamford University Bangladesh

CERTIFICATION

This is to certify that the thesis on “Analysis and Criticism of the Quota System in Bangladesh Civil Service” done by Md. Sarowar in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of LL.B. (Honors) from Stamford University Bangladesh. The thesis has been carried out under my guidance and is a record of the bona fide work carried out successfully.

Fowjia Akhter Senior Akter Department of Law Stamford University Bangladesh

DECLARATION I hereby do solemnly declare that the work presented in this thesis has been carried out by me and has not been previously submitted to any other institution. The work I have presented does not breach any copyright. I further undertake to indemnify the university against any loss or damage arising from breach of the forgoing obligations.

__________________________ Md.Sarowar LLB 048 07919 Department of Law Stamford University Bangladesh

ABSTRACT The Civil Service in any country is responsible for implementation of core national policies and action plans, and is thus the backbone of its government. It is the executive arm of the government. The traditional Civil Services however need to be modernized in order to enable them to cope with the modern day challenges and to perform their functions efficiently and effectively. Meritocratic recruitment and promotion practices are considered to be correlated with the effectiveness of the Civil Service. As a result, quota in recruitment process in Civil Service has been a matter of question. In order to do away with the apparent weaknesses of the existing Quota System, it is important to assess the consequence of quota in recruitment process. To avoid the criticism against its necessity, it is imperative to plug the loop-holes of the quotas that are presently practiced, quota should be re-arranged.

TABLE OF CONTENT Page No Acknowledgements

viii

Chapter 1 Introduction 1.1 Introduction

1

Chapter 2 Bangladesh Civil service 2.1 The structure of Bangladesh civil service 2.2 Cadre service 2.3 Quota System 2.4 Recruitment in Bangladesh Civil Service in Different Eras 2.5 Marks Distribution

5 6 8 11 13

Chapter 3 Reservation system in India and Pakistan 3.1 Reservation system in India

15

3.2 Reservation system in Pakistan

19

Chapter 4 Different Opinion about Quota System 4.1 Problem‐issues, concerns and Analysis

23

vi Chapter 5 Criticism of Quota system 5.1 Legal Frame Work 5.2 Reservation of Quota

27 27

5.3 Constitutional and Legal Basis of Recruitment 5.4 The result of reserving quota in public sector 5.5 Assessment of present Quota System

28 29 31

Chapter 6 Recommendation and Conclusion 6.1 Recommendations 6.2 Conclusion

34 36

References

37

vii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I express my sincerest gratitude to my honorable teacher Fowjia Akhter senior Lecturer Stamford University Bangladesh. She extended her helping hand by

providing guidance, offering valuable suggestions, encouragement in writing this report. I acknowledge my profound indebtedness and gratitude to her. I am grateful to my friends for their assistance and encouragement in writing this research paper. At last I am grateful to Almighty Allah, who has been kind to complete this research paper. Thanks to all. Who or indirectly help me to prepare this research work.

viii

Chapter 1 INTRODUCTION 1.1 Introduction Civil service of a country generally includes all permanent functionaries of government which distinctly excludes defense service, although some civil servants

work in defense ministry and its various departments. A member of civil service is not also a holder of political or judicial office. The civil servants of a state collectively called civil service. According to Finer, “civil service is a professional body of officials, permanent, paid and skilled. Policy formulation is the function of cabinet/ministry, but policy implementation, the main aspect of development is the function of the civil servants.” Although policy formulation is the jurisdiction of cabinet/ministry, it depends largely on civil servants for the data of policy formulation. According to a British writer, in ninety nine cases out of one hundred, the ministers simply accept the views of civil servants, and sign their names on dotted line. So a state may run without ministers, but it cannot run a day without civil servants. Here lies the importance of recruiting the best talents for civil service in order to make public sector a relevant, dynamic and powerful force of change.1 The Civil Service in any country is responsible for implementation of core national policies and action plans, and is thus the backbone of its government. It is the executive arm of the government. The traditional Civil Services however need to be modernized in order to enable them to cope with the modern day challenges and to perform their functions efficiently and effectively. Meritocratic recruitment and promotion practices are considered to be correlated with the effectiveness of the Civil Service. As a result, quota in recruitment process in Civil Service has been a matter of question.2 In Bangladesh there exists Quota system in Civil Service. The system started in the then East Pakistan, which enjoyed regional quota in the name of equal representation in Civil Service of Pakistan. After liberation, though no such disparity in culture and other issues exist in the country, quota system has continued to be embedded in Civil Service of Bangladesh. The Constitution of Bangladesh guarantees equality of opportunity in public employment for all citizens irrespective of their religious beliefs, race, creed, caste, gender, or place of birth and no one could be 1

Akbar Ali Khan and Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad. “Quota System for Civil Service Recruitment in Bangladesh: An Exploratory Analysis” March 2008 , [http:// www.bpsc,gov.bd/documents/ news/ 25906 news, Last visited 9 December 2015] 2 Ibid,

denied access for Civil Service positions and cannot be discriminated against because of being a member of a certain social group. However, factors like‐ education, skills, training and experience influence the recruitment process. Thus, despite inclusion of equal opportunity rights in our Constitution, the induction of the entire social array of people in governmental administration cannot be guaranteed. Anticipating such a problem and, more importantly, for upholding the values of democracy and to provide legitimacy to governance, the framers of the Constitution empowered the state to secure the adequate representation of a wide array of social groups. Nonetheless, voice is very often heard to have a bureaucracy that has representation from people of all walks of life. Hence, the Quota System continues in the Civil Service of Bangladesh.3 Bangladesh is one of the least developed countries of the world. Public sector is the major employment generating sector in Bangladesh. As per the statistics supplied by the Ministry of Establishment, total number of sanctioned posts up to 2001 in Ministries, Divisions, Departments and Autonomous Bodies was 1,061,089, of which exiting posts were 937,024 and vacant posts were 124,065. This number is very meager compared to net eligible work‐force rushing to the labor market every year.4 Private sector has not yet thrived to the extent as it was anticipated earlier particularly in respect of creation of blue and white collar jobs. So the eligible workforce has to rely mostly on the Government sector for employment. As per Central Recruitment Policy of the Government, only 45 percent of employment in Public Services is filled up by merit and the rest are filled‐in from quota reservation. This is an issue that warrants serious policy consideration for it has been dissuading the young generation to pursue painstaking efforts to equip themselves for competitive jobs. 5 3

Mohammad Mohabbat Khan: Administrative Reforms in Bangladesh, 1st ed. (Dhaka: The University Press Limited, 1998), p. 102 4 Statistics of Civil Officers and Staff, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, [http://www2.mopa.gov.bd/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=376&Itemid=229, Last visited 10 December 2015] 5 ibid

The Article 29(1) of the constitution of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh rules out any sorts of discrimination in the service of the Republic. But articles 28(4) and 29(3) (a) of the Constitution provides for creation of special provision in favor of backward section of citizens for the purpose of securing their adequate representation in the Service of the Republic. As such, there is no magic wand and linear solution to this dilemma of quota intervention. What could be done is to strike a balance or some sort of reconciliation between constitutional obligation and real life requirement keeping into consideration the delivery of quality public service.6 In 1971 waging an independence war against the Pakistani occupation regime, the people of this territory established an independent and sovereign state. In the preamble of the Constitution it is solemnly pledged that, among other things, the fundamental aim of the State shall be to establish a society‐ “free from exploitation‐ a society in which the rule of law, fundamental human rights and freedom, equality and justice political economic and social will be secured for all citizens.” Thirty years have already been elapsed, since Bangladesh emerged as an independent state. Now it seems imperative for this nation to self‐actualize how much it was pledged and how much has been accomplished.7 The recruitment procedure to the Civil Service is exercised by open competition. All vacancies in the Civil Service are not filled on the basis of overall performance in the several components of the BCS examination. Forty five percent of positions are reserved for top‐performing candidates while the remainder (55%) is distributed among the 64 districts on the basis of population. Further, the allocated number for each district is again distributed among freedom fighters (30%), women (15%) and tribal population (5%). 8 The district quota was introduced to remove the disparity in Civil Service representation among different regions of the country. This disparity of representation 6

Mahmudul Islam, Constitutional Law of Bangladesh, 2nd ed. (Dhaka: Mullick Brothers 2003), p.211. Mohammad Mohabbat Khan, Administrative Reforms in Bangladesh. (Dhaka: The University Press Limited 1998), p. 106-107 8 Ministry of the Public Administration, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, [http://www2.mopa.gov.bd/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=40&Itemid=438, , Last visited 10 December 2015] 7

occurred in the pre‐Bangladesh period due to the emphasis on merit in the recruitment policies of successive governments. Consequently, only a few economically advanced regions or those close to the capital, where educational opportunities were better, had any prospect of making a Civil Service career. This dissertation therefore tries to evaluate the effectiveness of the Quota System in recruitment process of Bangladesh Civil Service [BCS]. Although, the issue has wider expanse of ramifications, considering time and the limitation of the scope of the topic, we will concentrate on and confine ourselves to Civil Service with special emphasis on quota reservation that has been considered as a constraint to rendering of quality Civil Service. We shall consider the Quota intervention relating it to constitutional obligations and critically analyze the extent of its role as protected under constitutional coverage.9

9

The Bangladesh Observer, Politicization at its worst: Bangladesh e-Journal of Sociolog,. Vol. 4, No. 2 (2 July 2007)

Chapter 2 BANGLADESH CIVIL SERVICE 2.1 The structure of Bangladesh civil service The government of Bangladesh has a two-tier administration system. The upper tire is the central secretariat at the national level consisting of the Ministries and Divisions to provide policies and to perform clearinghouse functions. The other tire consists of Line department /directorates attached to the ministries and divisions that are mainly responsible for general administration, service delivery to citizen and implementation of various government development programs at the sub-national level. At present, the Bangladesh service has more than one million civil servants in 40 Ministries, 11 divisions and 254 departments. The internal organizations structure of a Ministry reflects a hierarchical order. A Minister is in charge of a Ministry and is normally the political head of that Ministry.10 There are four classes in Bangladesh civil service. Classes I and part of class II officer are treated as “gazetted” officers; the rest are considered as “non-gazetted” officer. The number of Class I officer is about 40,000. Of them 70% are recruited into 29 cadres. The rest do not belong to a particular cadre but work in functional areas. Recruitment is conducted by the Public Service Commission (PSC) as per recruitment conveyed by the Ministry of Establishment, which is responsible for the personal policy within civil service and human resources functions, particularly in the administrative cadre-citizen oriented services the evaluation of citizen oriented services depends both on the role and performance of the service providers-the public-servants-and also satisfactions of the service recipients-the citizen.11

10

Prof. Sirajul Islam., Administration of Bangladesh: BANGLAPEDIA- National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh,[http://en.banglapedia.org/index.php? title=Prof._Sirajul_Islam/Administration_of_Bangladesh, Last visited on 12 December 2015] 11 Ruhul Amin, Bangladesh Revisited- A Comprehensive Study of an Asian Nation, 1st ed, (Dhaka: Osder Publications, 2010), p. 277

A cadre system entails organization of civil servants into semi functional occupational groups or cadres. At present there are 29 cadres in Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS). The name of the cadres are : B.C.S. (Administration), B.C.S. (Agriculture), B.C.S. (Ansar), B.C.S. (Audit and Accounts), B.C.S. (Economics), B.C.S. (Co-operative), B.C.S (Customs and Excise), B.C.S. (Family Planning), B.C.S. (Fisheries), B.C.S. (Foreign Affairs), B.C.S. (Forestry), B.C.S. (Food), B.C.S. (General Education), B.C.S. (Health), B.C.S. (Information), B.C.S. (Judiciary), B.C.S. (Livestock), B.C.S. (Police), B.C.S (Postal), B.C.S. (Public Health Engineering), B.C.S. (Public Works), B.C.S. (Railway Engineering), B.C.S. (Railway Transportation and Commercial), B.C.S. (Roads and Highways), B.C.S. (Statistical), B.C.S. (Taxation), B.C.S. (Technical Education), B.C.S. (Tele-communication), B.C.S. (Trade).12 2.2 Cadre service Cadre services are those services which are constituted under law with a number of positions or structure and recruitment and promotion rules. Cadre service basically refers to the organization of the civil servants into well defined groups, services or cadres. Such distinct division within services seems to be characteristics of countries with British colonial heritage. Thus cadre, basically, refers the particular occupational groups to which a civil servant may belong, either at the time of recruitment or subsequently through lateral mobility. UNDP (United Nation Development Program) explains Civil Service as under: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5.

merit based, neutral Well structured, right sized and well paid Accountable, professional and relatively corruption free Relatively autonomous, responsive and representative Well trained, performance oriented and relatively open.13

2.2.1 Evolution of the Cadre Service 12

[http://www.studentstation.com/bcs-bangladesh/bcs-cadre.aspx, Last visited on 14 December 2015]

13

Ali Farazmand, Handbook of Comparative and Development Public Administration (Public Administration and Public Policy), 2nd ed, (New York: Marcel Dekker Int, 2001), p. 101.

The present Civil Service in Bangladesh has a long history which originated during the British rule in India. In British India, the Civil Service was the product of an evolutionary process. The definition of Civil Service remains vague and imprecise not only in Bangladesh but in many other countries. The term civil service in The Indian sub‐continent was first used in 1785 to refer to nonmilitary staff of the British East India Company. This term then gained coinage in 18th century to distinguish between civil administration and military administration. in the Indian subcontinent under the colonial regime in India. Personnel employed in civil administration were called civil servants. However, outside the British colonial administration of India, the term ‘civil service’ elsewhere was first used in England in 1854. In the context of UK many scholars have drawn attention to this issue. Mackenzie and Grove (1957) say “We are met at the outset by the fact that there are no precise criteria, either legal or historical, by which to determine the scope of the Civil Service.14 There is a central core which is unmistakable, at the margin no sharp line divides those public who are within the Civil Services from those who are not”. The term “civil” meaning “non‐military” continued through the early part of the nineteenth century in the context of the British Civil Service. It is however later displaced to convey the distinction between holders of permanent posts and those holding temporary posts whose job changed hands with every change. The Tomlin Commission says “Civil service Servants of the crown, other than holders of the of political or judicial officers, who are employed in a civil capacity and whose remuneration is paid wholly and directly out of employed in a civil capacity and whose remuneration is paid wholly and directly out of as a system of mediating institutions for mobilizing human resources in the service of the affairs of the state in a given territory. Other scholars defined Civil Service and distinguished Civil Service from elected political officials defined Civil Service and distinguished Civil Service 14

The Colombia Encyclopedia, 2007.[ http://cup.columbia.edu/search-results? keyword=civil+service&bisac_heading=combined&order=super_relevance&from=advanced, Last visited 15 December 2015 ]

from elected political officials and the military.15 The civil servants are seen as officials at all levels of the government operating in holistic system, the boundaries of which are best determined empirically. It will be sufficient, for the present purposes, to say that the term Civil Service is used narrowly in Bangladesh. It appertains to a particular class or classes of services and management process. However, the appellation “Civil Service “disappears to make room for a much wider meaning through the use of such terms as public servants or government servant depending on the areas of the management process.16 The recruitment rules of Civil Service in Bangladesh do not define the term Civil Service or civil servant. The Superannuation Act recognizes only public servant. The definition in this Act encompasses a wide variety of services and positions, many of which lie outside the ambit of Civil Service rule. All public servants are not civil servant. However, it must be said that Public Service Recruitment Rules for the Bangladesh Civil Service did not define the term Civil Service. It is a popular term used in conversation only.17 2.3 Quota System Quota is commonly referred to as a situation wherein something reserved for some backward section of the country to uphold their representation in education, business, and service or policy making process. The common logic behind the system is to eliminate discrimination against some section. But in real sense it is to increase representation of some backward section in government activities providing some preferential treatment. In developed countries it is treated as affirmative action which is to some preferential action to some section to eliminate their backwardness. The quota should be in place for a specific time period in order to correct some past wrong doing or inequality and after achieving those inequality or wrong doings it should be removed. Quota is for giving advantage to some disadvantaged group in filling in 15

Heady Ferrel, Public Administration, A Comparative Perspective, 6th ed, (United State: CRC Press Int, 1996), p.137 16 ibid, p. 138. 17 Ibid, p. 141.

scarce position in those positions of persons belonging to those disadvantaged subgroups.18 2.4 Recruitment in Bangladesh Civil Service in Different Eras Bangladesh inherited the administrative structure and Civil Service system developed in Pakistan, which was a continuation of the system of the British India. British Civil Service was considered as the most distinguished Civil Service in the world. Civil Service of Pakistan, though very small in size, was very considered effective. During the turbulent years immediately following the independence the government faced many urgent problems. When Bangladesh came into being after a bloody war, for filling in the void created due to leaving the civil servants of West Pakistan origin, a sizable number of recruitments were made without framing new recruitment rules which were ad hoc, unsystematic, irregular and chaotic. In 1976 recruitment rules for appointment of superior positions were framed. Prior to framing of the rules recruitment to various services and positions were made following an Interim Recruitment Policy announced by the Government through executive order in September 1972. This had undergone change from time to time.19

2.4.1 Eligibility for Recruitment and Its Changes over Period The provisions concerning eligibility for recruitment has been laid down in Bangladesh Constitutions and various legislations, policies and circulars. These are enumerated below: The eligibility for entry into various Civil Service cadres is codified in Article 133 of the Bangladesh Constitution. The Constitution requires that, consistent with its provisions, Parliament may by law regulate the appointment and conditions of service. It also lies down that until such law is made, the President may make rules regulating such appointment and conditions of service and the rules so made shall 18

Akbar Ali Khan and Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad. “Quota System for Civil Service Recruitment in Bangladesh: An Exploratory Analysis” March 2008 , [http://www.bpsc,gov.bd/documents/ news/ 25906 news, Last visited 15 December 2015] 19 M.M.R Morshed, Bureaucratic Response to Administrative Decentralization: A study of Bangladesh Civil Service (Dhaka:University Press Limited, 1997), p. 134

have effect subject to the provisions of any such law. The rules are also to be consistent with the provisions of the constitution. However, Parliament is yet to make any such law governing the appointment. In the absence of any specific Act governing the appointment and other terms and conditions of service, the rule making authority of the President has been put in place to fill up the void.20 The rules for recruitment to Civil Service cadres followed the framing of rules for creation of BCS cadres in 1980. The recruitment rules were notified in January, 1981. These rules mainly dealt with the procedure for recruitment, the period of probation and conditions of confirmation in service. In 1982, elaborate recruitment rules were framed for appointment to various cadres of BCS. These rules prescribed criteria for eligibility in respect of age and qualifications of candidates to be recruited directly to various services. The rules also provide the syllabi of marks of the competitive examinations. The total marks were 1600. The educational qualification required was a second class Bachelor’s degree from a recognized university with first division in SSC or HSC. This was applicable to 11 cadres, for the other technical cadres separate educational qualifications were prescribed. The general age limit was 21‐25, but for certain professional cadre the upper limit of age was 30. The upper age limit was also relaxed for tribal, doctors and freedom fighters.21 Since 1983, the conditions for recruitment as regards age and syllabi were changed from time to time on the ground of necessity of meeting urgent situations that cropped up over time. This was, however, limited to one time recruitment only. The recruitment of appearing at written test was waived. The age limit was also relaxed in case of ad hoc appointees who wished to be recruited. This process went on in respect of individual cadres. The age limit for recruitment to judicial cadre was raised from 30 years to 37 years. The requirement of written test for 1600 marks was reduced to 900 marks for as many as 30 cadres. In October 1985, rules in respect of 1600 marks were reduced to 1000.22 20

Ibid, p. 141. Ibid, p. 142. 22 S.A.M.M Ali, Bangladesh Civil Service: A Political–Administrative Perspective,(Dhaka: University Press Limited, 2004), p. 17. 21

The practice of relaxing the rules of recruitment on grounds of meeting urgent situations continued up to 1992. In September 1990, recruitment to the BCS (police) cadre was based on 400 marks for compulsory subjects, of which 100 marks earlier allocated for mathematics were merged with general knowledge in the form of mathematics and everyday science. Six hundred marks were allocated for academic attainments. In May 1992, recruitment was made to the BCS (General Education) cadre based on 1000 marks. However, unlike the police cadre, only 200 marks were allocated for compulsory subjects and remaining 800 marks allotted for academic attainments and viva‐voce tests. In this case, separate marks were allotted for academic attainments at four different stages of educational qualifications. Throughout the 1980’s and up to 1992 recruitment rules were modified without following any uniform criteria. For the recruitments made in 1982, at least the nature of urgent situation was explained in the relevant Statutory Regulatory Orders (SROs). These SROs referred to the need for officers at the Thana level following the local government reform measures undertaken during the second martial law regime. The following relevant SROs did not explain the nature of urgency for the relaxation of recruitment criteria.23 After 1992, the open competition for admission through PSC into the Civil Service was introduced based on four tests: (1) written examination (800 marks, out of which 500 are compulsory for candidates of general and technical cadre), (2) viva voce examination (200 marks), (3) psychological examination and (4) medical examination. In order to qualify, the candidates needed to secure at least 45% of total marks in the written examination and 40% in the viva voce and psychological examination and they should also be certified medically fit in all respect. Candidates for the general cadre had to attend all written examinations containing 800 marks. On the other hand candidates for technical cadres could do away with 500 marks

23

ibid, p. 17-18

examination, of course if they wanted to compete for the general cadre posts then sitting for another 300 marks optional examination was necessary.24 Subject and marks distribution again changed from the 26th BCS. Salient features of this changes are: marks for viva voce is reduced to 100; both general and technical cadre applicants need to sit for 900 marks written examination; inclusion of the subject Mathematical Reasoning and Mental Ability (100 marks); 200 marks (optional) instead of Bangla 2nd paper and General Science and technology for the technical cadres and if they want to compete for the general cadre posts then they need to attend 1100 marks examination.25 It is evident that every government of the country tried to streamline the Civil Service system but the government failed to build up a sound recruitment system in Civil Service. There was no regular recruitment procedure followed by the PSC. As a result it has become impossible to maintain standards of the candidates. For example, there are certain batches of recruits who were selected for the service only on the basis of an oral test. On the other hand, there are some batches that had to face a 2200 marks examination in stages Changes in the government also affected the recruitment in the Civil Service. For instance, during the second Martial Law Regime decentralization of the position of Upazila Magistrate. The following government abolished the Upazila system in 1992 which in turn made those recruitments futile.26 Despite the provision of quota for certain categories of people including freedom fighters, difficulties were experienced in finding the required number of candidates from freedom fighters category. This led to PSC to recommend to the government increase in merit quota as well as women quota. This request continued since 1987, but government remained silent on the issue. In July 1999, the government announced a new quota policy for recruitment to various services and posts across the public

24

Ibid, p. 19. [https://eduresourcebd.wordpress.com/2012/04/27/bcs-bangladesh-civil-service-examinationsystem, Last visited on 16 December 2015] 26 ibid, 25

sector. The major feature of this policy was to provide 30 per cent quota for the wards of the freedom fighters and “Shaheed” freedom fighters.27 2.5 Marks Distribution Bangladesh Government through its SRO No. 75‐law/2005 issued by the Government Prescribed examination marks as under: 2.5.1 General Cadre Nine Compulsory subjects  General Bengali (Part I & II) = 200 Marks 

General English (Part I & II) = 200 Marks



Bangladesh Affairs (Part I & II) = 200 Marks



International Affairs = 100 Marks



Mathematical Reasoning and Mental Ability = 100 Marks



General Science and Technology = 100 Marks28

2.5.2 Technical Cadre Seven compulsory subjects and two post related subjects 

General Bengali = 100 Marks



General English(Part I & II) = 200 Marks



Bangladesh Affairs(Part I & II) = 200 Marks



International Affairs = 100 Marks



Mathematical Reasoning and Mental Ability = 100 Marks



Two Papers for post Related subject = 200 Marks.29

27

Ibid, [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BCS_Examination, Last visited on 16 December 2015] 29 ibid 28

Chapter 3 RESERVATION SYSTEM IN INDIA AND PAKISTAN 3.1 Reservation system in India Reservation in India is the process of facilitating the person in education, scholarship, jobs, and in promotion who have category certificates. Reservation is a form of quota based affirmative action. Reservation is governed by constitutional laws, statutory laws, and local rules and regulations. Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) and in some states Backward Classes among Muslims under a category called BC (M), are the primary beneficiaries of the reservation policies under the Constitution – with the object of ensuring a level playing field.30 3.1.1 Present caste-based reservation system of Union Government Scheduled Cates – 15% Scheduled Tribes – 7.5% Other Backward Classes (OBC) – 27% Total reservation – 49.5%31 3.1.2 Beneficiary groups of the reservation system Enrolment in educational institutions and job placements are reserved based on a variety of criteria. The quota system sets aside a proportion of all possible positions for members of a specific group. Those not belonging to the designated communities can compete only for the remaining positions, while members of the designated communities can compete for either reserved or open position. For example, when 1 out of 10 clerical positions in railways are reserved for ex-servicemen, those who have served in the Army can compete both in the "General Category" as well as in the specific quota. 32

30

[http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/reservation_in _India, Last visited on 15 January 20] ibid, 32 ibid, 31

Since the introduction of reservation system in India, a lot of controversy has been attached to it. There are people who are in favor or quota system and consider it a positive step towards making education accessible among the masses without any discrimination. The students of these castes and groups have always had difficulties in attaining education with normal people in normal institutes which is why they lag behind. They have an equal right for education and quota system is a medium which gives them a fair chance to stand in the queue and prove their worth and talent against students of upper castes and majority.33 Seats are reserved for people under the following criteria: 3.1.3 Caste Based Quota In central-government funded higher education institutions, 22.5% of available seats are reserved for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) students (7.5% for STs, 15% for SCs). This reservation percentage has been raised to 49.5% by including an additional 27% reservation for OBCs. This ratio is followed even in Parliament and all elections where a few constituencies are earmarked for those from certain communities.34 The exact percentages vary from state to state 1.

In Tamil Nadu, the reservation is 18% for SCs and 1% for STs, based on local

2.

demographics. IN Northeast India, especially in Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Mizoram, reservation for ST in State Govt. jobs is 80% with only 20% unreserved. In the Central Universities of NEHU (shillong) and Rajiv Gandhi

3.

University, 60% of seats are reserved for ST students. In Andhra Pradesh, 25% of educational institutes and government jobs are

4.

reserved for OBCs, 15% for SCs, 6% for STs and 4% for Muslims. In West Bengal, 35% of educational institute seats and government jobs are reserved for SC, ST, and OBC (22% SC, 6%ST, 7% for OBC A &B) in West Bengal there is no reservation on religious basis but some economically and

33 34

[https://Everything.explained.today/reservation_in_india, last visited on 15 January 2016] [http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/reservation_in _India, Last visited on 15 January 20]

educationally backward Muslim castes(basis surnames pertaining to different profession e.g. cobbler, weaver etc.) have been included along with their Hindu counterparts in OBC list namely OBC A and OBC B, in both lists caste from both communities are there. But in higher educational institute, till now there is no reservation for the OBC community but there is reservation in regard to admission in primary, secondary and higher secondary studies.35 3.1.4 Religion There is no reservation granted on the basis of religion in the Central educational institutions at the national level, although reservation has been extended to religious minorities in some states. The Tamil Nadu government has allotted 3.5% of seats each to Muslims and Christians, thereby altering the OBC reservation to 23% from 30% (since it excludes persons belonging to Other Backward Castes who are either Muslims or Christians). The Government of Andhra Pradesh introduced a law enabling 4% reservations for Muslims in 2004. This law has upheld by the Supreme Court of India in an interim order on March 25, 2010, however it constituted a Constitution bench to look in the issue. Until that decision, it is allowed. The Supreme Court bench of Chief Justice K.G. Balakrishnan and Justices J.M. Panchal and B.S. Chauhan referred this issue to Constitution bench to examine the validity of the impugned Act since it involved important issues of Constitution. [29] The issue of whether religion-based quotas are permissible under the Constitution is now before a Constitution bench of the Supreme Court. Pending a decision on its legality, the top court, however, allowed the state government to implement the quota. Kerala Public Service Commission has a quota of 12% for Muslims. Religious minority (Muslim or Christian) educational institutes also have 50% reservation for Muslim or Christian

35

ibid,

religions. The Central government has listed a number of Muslim communities as backward Muslims, making them eligible for reservation.36 3.1.5 Controversy The reservation system has called for a lot of controversy and criticism by the masses and different groups. People who oppose quota system state that they believe in merit and reservation is killing merit and true deserving candidates. Because a certain percentage of seats are already allotted to candidates who do not even meet the criteria, it creates a disadvantage for the deserving candidates who have worked hard all year and scored good marks but could not get admission because of shortage of seats.37 The Government of India on 22 December 2011 announced establishment of a sub-quota of 4.5% for minorities within the existing 27% reservation for Other Backward Classes. The reasoning given was that Muslim communities that have been granted OBC status are unable to compete with Hindu OBC communities. It was alleged that the decision was announced as the Election Commission announced Assembly elections in five states on 24 December 2011. The government would not have been able to announce this due to the model code of conduct. On 12 January 2012, the Election Commission stayed implementation of this decision for violation of the model code of conduct. Later, Justice Sachar, head of the Sachar Committee that was commissioned to prepare a report on the latest social, economic and educational condition of the Muslim community of India, criticized the government decision, saying "Such promises will not help the backward section of minorities. It is like befooling them. These people are making tall claims just to win elections". He suggested that instead of promising to give reservations, the

36

[http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2014-02-20/news/47527120_1_constitution-bench-apbackward-quota, last visited on 16 January 2016] 37 Durga Das Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India, 21st ed, (Nagpur: Lexis Nexis Butterworths wadhuwa, 2013), p. 98

government should focus on basic issues of improving administration and governance. 38 On 28 May 2012, the Andhra Pradesh High Court quashed the sub-quota. The court said that the sub-quota has been carved out only on religious lines and not on any other intelligible basis. The court criticized the decision: "In fact, we must express our anguish at the rather casual manner in which the entire issue has been taken up by the central government.39 3.2 Reservation system in Pakistan Quota System in Pakistan was established in Pakistan to give every region of the country representation in institutions according to their population. The Civil Service of Pakistan selects only 7.5% of the applicants by merit, education, qualification and experience. The quota system in Pakistan is interconnected with its independence from the imperialist British Empire and since day one all the governments of Pakistan have uphold this relic of the cruel past with utmost devotion and forbearance laden loyalty. 40 3.2.1 Quotas in Pakistan Civil Service The Civil Service of Pakistan selects only 7.5% of the applicants by merit, education, qualification and experience while the 92.5% are selected by using quota system. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Merit 7.5% Punjab (Including Federal Area of Islamabad) 50% Sindh (Including Karachi) 19% The Share of Sindh will be further sub-allocated in the following ratio: Urban Areas, namely Karachi, Hyderabad and Sukkur 40% of 19% or 7.6%. Rural Areas i.e. rest of Sindh (Excluding Karachi, Hyderabad & Sukkur, 60%

of 19% or 11.4%) 7. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 11.5 8. Balochistan 6% 9. Gilgit–Baltistan and Federally Administered Tribal Areas 4% 38

[ http://www.deccanherald.com/content/228547/govt-trying-befool-minorities-quota.html, Last visited on 16 January 2016] 39 ibid, 40 [http://waheeduddinhyder.blogspot.ca/2013/10/quota-system-in-pakistan.html, Last visited on 16 January 2016]

10. 11.

Azad Kashmir 2% Women Reserved Quota: 10% Women quota will be observed / calculated from the share of each province / region.41

3.2.2 Controversy Article 25 of the Constitution of Pakistan stated; “(1) All citizens are equal before law and are entitled to equal protection of law. (2) There shall be no discrimination on the basis of sex. (3) Nothing in this Article shall prevent the State from making any special provision for the protection of women and children.”42 Article 27 stated that; “(1) In respect of access to places of public entertainment or resort not intended for religious purposes only, there shall be no discrimination against any citizen on the ground only of race, religion, caste, sex, residence or place of birth. (2) Nothing in clause (1) shall prevent the State from making any special provision for women and children.”43 Constitution itself ensures the all people in a same law, on the other hand the quota system in Civil Service making special advantage for a class of people. Here, it have been reserved only 7.5% of seats for merit. It is true that quota system is needed for a country in requirement but it is not ethical to reserved maximum number of percentage to upgrade the backward peoples. Equality of opportunity should be provided, without any reservations or discrimination, for career progression and appointment to senior managerial positions to all members of the Civil Services whether they belong to Services, Cadres, Occupational groups and ex-cadre positions.44 First of all we should think like Pakistanis, not like Punjabis, Sindhis, Balochis, Pakhtoons and Mohajirs. We should do the things that are better for our country not 41

[ http://defence.pk/threads/2014-and-we-still-have-quota-system-in-pakistan.373248, Last visited 17 January 2016] 42

43

The Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, Chapter 1: Fundamental Rights, Article: 25.

Ibid, Article: 27 Farhan Hanif Siddiqi, The Politics of Ethnicity in Pakistan: The Balochi, Sindhi and Mohajir Ethnic Movements,( Karachi: Routledge,1998), p. 122. 44

for any individual. Why impose a quota? Why not simply educate and help the masses to make them compete at equal levels? Waderas, Choudhries, Sardars, and Khans are responsible for educating people of their areas, as they come to the Assemblies through their people’s votes. I think quota system is the biggest symbol of injustice at all levels with the people who are on merit. It should be given up, instead what we are seeing is that it is being extended for 20 more years. And who are the people benefiting from it? The people from the so-called backward areas? No, the only ones who benefit from it are the children of Sardars, Choudhries, Waderas and Khans. I advise the Prime Minister of Pakistan to please stop this injustice from happening. I believe that the quota system is wrong and un-Islamic and Pakistan, which is an Islamic country, should not have it. 45

45

Ibid, p.126.

Chapter 4 DIFFERENT OPINION ABOUT THE QUOTA SYSTEM 4.1 Problem‐issues, concerns and Analysis BCS exam is the highest examination system for recruitment of officers for different cadres of Bangladesh Government Services which includes administration to education. The service of the government in its different sectors will depend on the quality of the selection in its different cadres. Every cadre is important in its own merit. And the best sons of the soil should be recruited for the services. Quota system was introduced in the government service by an executive order in 1972, where 45% are reserved on merit, rest 55% is distributed as 30% for children of freedom fighters, 10% for women, 10% for districts and 5% for indigenous people. We have passed 37 years of our independence. Controversy arises regarding continuation of quota. Some are against it and some are in favor. There is a group in between who prefer to reduce the percentage of quota in different categories.46 4.2 Opinion of different person about the Quota system Many of the persons give their opinion about the quota system. Some suggest for modify the Quota system as well as the percentage of different Quota. Some are totally against the Quota. They want the Quota system in full should be abolished. Some people are in favor of it. Dr. Akbar Ali Khan, the advisor of former Caretaker Government and Ex-civil Servant of Bangladesh Said,” There is no basis for the present quota system in the constitution. There should be no such quotas permanently or for an indefinite period. It gives people an impression that less efficient people get appointments through the quota system and thus the quality of public administration drops. Allocation of appointments on the basis of quotas should not be greater than on the basis of merit.”47 He also added that, “Different Qualifying benchmarks are not found even in uncivilized jungle. Only 45% merit based recruitment in public service is against the 46 47

[https://bdoza.wordpress.com/tag/quota-system-in-bcs, Last visited 22 January 2016] [ http://www.bdchronicle.com/detail/news/31/810, Last visited 22 January 2016]

constitutional provisions. The only legal basis of quota for freedom fighter could be established if it were to be proved that they are the ‘backward segment’ of the society and basis for the freedom fighters quota are even weaker, whereas now quota is being implemented for the grandchildren as well.”48 Saadat Hussain, former PSC Chairman had given his opinion about the Quota system. The retired Secretary said, “The quota system should be amended along with the examination system. This system has no Constitutional basis, but still it is a national issue. Complexities surrounding the issue have made it more difficult to resolve it. This system has no Constitutional basis, but still it is a national issue. Complexities surrounding the issue have made it more difficult to resolve it. And so, finding a solution to one or two types won’t do. If anyone wants to work on quotas, he or she will have to work on all forms of quotas. In a 2009 report, we said the quota system had reached a stage wherein complexities associated with it can’t be solved with mere human qualities. Quotas not only mean BCS quotas. Everyone’s talking about freedom fighter quotas. But there are quotas for women, districts, indigenous people etc. Each quota has again divisions. The district quota system is based on population and because of this, small districts are deprived. As a result, purposes of creating such quotas have backfired. Districts like Meherpur, Lalmonirhat, Serpur, and Laxmipur have no district quotas. What we did is, if there are 189 posts, one seat each should be given to the districts. And if there are over 18 posts, then there would be one post for each division. We had declared 31 districts backward and allocated two percent quotas for them.”49 He also added that, “I believe a different quota system should be introduced for the BCS where merit will be given topmost priority. Apart from the gazetted officers, there are thousands of posts in first and second class non-cadre jobs. A different quota system should be introduced there. Those having third and fourth class jobs will not be the country’s policymakers. So, there should be a different quota system for them. 48 49

[archive.thedailystar.net/new Design/story.php?nid=29934, Last visited 23 January 2016] [http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/07/27/quota-and-exam-systems-need-amendment, Last visited on 23 January 2016]

Apart from the gazetted officers, there are thousands of posts in first and second class non-cadre jobs. A different quota system should be introduced there. Those having third and fourth class jobs will not be the country’s policymakers. So, there should be a different quota system for them. Quota essentially means giving opportunities to the relatively less qualified. But while amending the system it should not ended up amending the freedom fighter quota alone. All the quotas will have to be amended.”50 Prof Musleh Uddin Ahmed, chairman of Public Administration at University of Dhaka, Said, “Quota system in public recruitment is not a new idea. It has existed almost in all civilized states, but for a specific period of time. Bangladesh is now at 44, but still, quotas prevail, obstructing the BCS recruitment route. Indeed, it is contaminating the standard of civil service, which is partially responsible for weak policy implementation. The poor recruitment process, including the stimulation of quota and lack of the right person in the right place are more responsible for the failure of some recent bilateral negotiations and treaty. It is fair to say that the administration or a state cannot be run by emotion, but requires pragmatism.”51 Mustafa Chowdhury, (Editor and writer) in his book Understanding Public Administration said that, “Quota system in BCS is a barrier to merit and administrative efficiency. It is often criticized that in the face of unemployment of males, females are given undue privileges through the quota system. This system also supports underestimation of abilities, discrimination and gender specific standards of females, which could lead to further discrimination standards of females, which could lead to further discrimination, were hired through the women quotas being hired without their required qualifications. Rather, they have to show their competence by appearing in different examination, the same as males. A quota system may be explained here as a way, whereby some eligible female candidates are getting an added opportunity to enter into the civil service.”52

50

ibid, [http://www.theindependentbd.com/printversion/details/27149, Last visited on 24 January 2016] 52 Mustafa Chowdhury, Understanding Public Administration, 1st ed. (Dhaka: The University Press Ltd, 2000), p. 51. 51

Former member of the PSC and professor at Dhaka University’s Public Administration Department, Mohammad Mohabbat Khan said,” the quota system should be reviewed. If we want a first grade civil service, we need first class graduates and for this it should be ensured that the talented are recruited in the civil service. Initially the government can reduce the percentage of quota and merit-based recruitment should be made in 80% cases.”53 Meghna Sabharwal and Evan M. Berman on their book ‘Public Administration in South Asia’ said, “The quota is frustrating and demoralizing for the true merit. Quota cannot continue for perpetuity, it should have some ending point. Otherwise, it is misused in favor of politics and interested groups. Quota resists the country in getting the quality service of brilliant graduates who could better serve the nation than those recruited based on quota. As a result, the new generation is averting from civil service rather they like to join in a private job that provide more financial and fringe benefits than that of government service If quota dominates in recruitment of civil servants, it would demoralize qualified graduates Consequently, they would be frustrated and go astray. Meanwhile, country will denied from their contribution and because of brain drain, qualified human resource would go to the private and international organization. On the other part, quota would recruit under-qualified personnel in public administration. It would need more investment for educating, training and make them adapt to administrative culture. However, they would produce poor performances and compete for promotion and other benefits with the officers join based on merit. In that process, political intervention on administration and corruption would go high. The final effect is negative impact on country’s growth and development.”54

53

[http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2013/jul/12/experts-suggest-quota-system-review, Last visited on 24 January 2016] 54 Meghna Sabharwal and Evan M. Berman, Public Administration in South Asia(India, Bangladesh and Pakistan), 1st ed. (United States: CRC Press, 2013), p. 455.

Chapter 5 CRITICISM OF QUOTA SYSTEM 5.1 Legal Frame Work The merit ‐based recruitment is the main foundation of a professional bureaucracy. Unless the recruitment policy is conceived in a sound manner, it is unlikely to build up a first rate staff.. Therefore, appropriate recruitment policy is essential to attract best talents to the government service. There are six essential features of a sound recruitment policy. These are: 1. Constitutional and legal basis of recruitment; 2. Role of the Public service commission; 3. Minimum qualification for recruitment; 4. Determination of the number of vacancies for recruitment in each year; 5. Structure of examination for recruitment; and 6. Exception for merit‐based recruitment.55 5.2 Reservation of Quota At present the PSC is required to reserves appointment of post according to following quota: 1. 2. 3. 4.

30% reserved for freedom fighter or the children of freedom fighters 10% reserved for women 5% reserved for trial group 10% reserved different districts (based on districts population density).

This Quota leaves only 45 present of the post for recruitment to be filled following a merit-base open competitive system.56 5.3 Constitutional and Legal Basis of Recruitment The legal basis of recruitment of services of Bangladesh is laid down in Article 133 of the Constitution of the People Republic of Bangladesh, which reads as follows: 55

Ali Ahmed, Administration of Local Self-Government for Rural Areas in Bangladesh, 1st ed, (Dhaka: Local Government Institute, 2001), p. 56 56 Statistics of Civil Officers and Staff, Government of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh, [http://www2.mopa.gov.bd/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=376&Itemid=229, Last visited 15 December 2015]

"Subject to provisions of this constitution, Parliament may by law regulate the appointment and conditions of service of persons in the service of the Republic: Provided that it shall be competent for President to make rules regulating the appointment and the conditions of service of such persons until provision in that behalf is made by or under any law, and rules so made shall have effect subject to the provisions of any such law".57 At present, there exist only a few rules for regulating appointment and conditions of the services. The Constitution also guarantees of equality of opportunity. Article 29 of the Constitution lays down that "There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in respect of employment or office in the service of the Republic. No citizens shall, on grounds only of religion, caste, sex or place of birth, be in eligible for, or discriminated against in respect of any employment or office in the service of the Republic".58 However under clause (3) of the same Article, the constitution has provided certain exceptions that read: “Nothing in this article shall prevent the state from (a) making special provision, in favor of any backward section of citizens for the purpose of securing their adequate representation in the service of the Republic; (b) giving effect to any law which makes provision for reserving appointments relating to any religious or denominational institution to person of that religion or denomination; (c) reserving for members of one sex any class of employment or office on the ground that it is considered by its nature to be unsuited to members of the opposite sex.59 The above constitutional provisions indicate that civil service recruitment policy in Bangladesh is the admixture of merit and quota. It should be noted here that recruitment policy was first introduced in Bangladesh by an executive order in September 1972 called Interim Recruitment Rules 1972 before the constitution came into operation in December of that year. The recruitment to civil service in Bangladesh may be of various natures. They are: direct appointment through competitive examination, appointments by promotion, appointments by transfer and 57

Mahmudul Islam, Constitutional Law of Bangladesh, 2nd ed. (Dhaka: Mullick Brothers 2003), p.212. ibid, p. 213 59 ibid, p. 216. 58

appointments on ad hoc basis and then regularization. Here we shall deal with direct recruitment to the officers giving emphasis to cadre services.60 5.4 The result of reserving quota in public sector It is very important to assess whether the quota reservation is reaping optimum result. Some of the provisions should be done away with. Since there is opinion in favor and against the system it is more than necessary to assess the degree of the result in comparison with its motive behind. Following factors could be considered in this regard: i.

Whether the districts that are considered backward are getting

ii. iii. iv.

proportionate Representations? Whether, the person who is getting the quota facility from the backward District is coming from a poor family or is from a well off family? In case of women quota whether the selected women are from educated

v.

and privileged family? Whether quota is availed of by the people of different faith, caste and

vi.

creed proportionate to their size save Muslim? Whether quota is deterring employment of people of comparatively young age? If the candidates are young they could render more service and

vii.

dedicate them for the upliftment of the nation? Whether representation from freedom fighters as well as their wards are

viii.

actually been filled up by the true freedom fighters or their wards? Whether the tribal quotas being filled by the all tribes proportionate to the particular tribe's population size to the total tribal population?61

5.4.1 The Women Quota Quota for women has been introduced from 1977 but practiced from 1982. Quota for women was initially considered for war affected women but later it was further extended to all women and 10% of all positions have been earmarked. Now quota of

60

[http://www.studentstation.com/bcs-bangladesh/bcs-cadre.aspx, Last visited on 15 December 2015] Mohammad Mohabbat Khan, Administrative Reforms in Bangladesh. (Dhaka: The University Press Limited 1998), p. 94 61

women is now utilized properly and in a survey conducted by PSE, it has been noticed that success rate in the examination is more in case of women than men.62 5.4.2 Quota for freedom fighters To recognize the contribution of freedom fighters in the war of liberation 30% quota was earmarked. Later on when the quota of freedom fighters remained unfulfilled and freedom fighters of the maximum age limit could not be had considerable debate was taken place until the said quota was reserved for their wards. The number of freedom fighters who qualified to enjoy the facility earmarked for them was always dismal although they had the opportunity of relaxation of age bar for two years.63 Every year the number of successful freedom fighters was far lesser than the post reserved for them. For the rigidity of keeping the post reserved for them PSC had to keep the posts vacant for non‐availability of freedom fighters. In spite of PSC's repeated recommendation of merging the posts with general cadres policy makers did not respond positively. It was only in 2002, when the government instructed the PSC to recruit on the basis of merit if eligible candidates could not be had from the wards of the freedom fighters. Time to time further modifications was made in the quota reservation based on the government decision . However, quota for freedom fighters further earmarked for their wards. After conversion of the reservation for issues of freedom fighters the numbers of candidates increased. But, the most of the candidates who succeeded are the wards of defense personnel. The above finding is an eye opener to the effect that most of the freedom fighters are in a very poor financial state. Those who have the slightest financial soundness have been able to succeed.64 5.4.3 Tribal Quota As regards the findings of the study about tribal applicants, policy makers considered the tribal and indigenous people lesser advantaged and back ward in terms of 62

[http://bdnews24.com/bangladesh/2013/07/27/quota-and-exam-systems-need-amendment, Last visited on 20 December 2015] 63 Ibid, 64 Akbar Ali Khan and Kazi Rakibuddin Ahmad. “Quota System for Civil Service Recruitment in Bangladesh: An Exploratory Analysis” March 2008 , [http:// www.bpsc,gov.bd/documents/ news/ 25906 news, Last visited 20 December 2015]

resources the tribal and indigenous people lesser advantaged and back ward in terms of resources quota in Civil Service has been kept for them. But the quota is benefitting mostly "Chakma" tribe. Representation of other tribes is negligible. As a result compared to the size of population of Chakma tribe they are getting disproportionate jobs in the Civil Service.65 5.5 Assessment of present Quota System Right after the independence of Bangladesh although a sizable number of officers were recruited no new rules were formulated then. It started with the formulation of rules for appointment of superior posts in 1976. Recruitment before that was upon interim recruitment policy announced by Government in September 1972. With a view to ensure equal representation of districts, war affected women; freedom fighters and tribal people quota reservation were made for various services and positions in public sector including defense service. One more change was there in policy in 1997. Time to time further modification was made in the quota reservation as per government decision. According to the latest order of the Ministry of Establishment the Quota System has been rearranged to give access to more tribal applicants.66 1.

Quota system denies the merit and efficiency. Civil Service works as

executive arm of any government. People against the system says that it brings inefficiency Both the Administrative Services Reorganization Committee and the Pay and Services Commission, were against the Quota System and observed that, this system would defeat the purpose of building up a first rate Civil Service which the country needs most. Adoption of a well‐conceived recruitment policy lies at the core of an efficient Civil Service. However, a weak recruitment policy is unlikely to ensure the existence of the type of first rate Civil Service system expected in a modern democratic polity. Some also says that it is against national integrity. They opined that strong Civil Service has been able to keep India united.67 65

M.M.R Morshed, Bureaucratic Response to Administrative Decentralization: A study of Bangladesh Civil Service (Dhaka:University Press Limited, 1997), p. 152 66 Mustafa Chowdhury, Understanding Public Administration, 1st ed. (Dhaka: The University Press Ltd, 2000), p. 79 67 M.M. Khan, Polities of Administrative Reforms, 1st ed. (New Delhi Ashish Publishing House, 1991), p. 35.

2.

Our Constitution has ensured equal opportunity of jobs to all the

citizens but introduction of quota frustrated that spirit also observed that the quota reservation was unconstitutional. Mentioned that present Quota System is the problem of quality of civil servants.68 3. In the present recruitment procedure the geographic quota had been introduced to create a balance in employment from all districts to make the Civil Service more representative. However, this is creating instances of greater unfairness than remedying the disparity that exists between districts. District quota is based on population of a district .The big district always get more posts than that of small district .In many cases if total position is not up to certain number then some small districts do not get it.69 4. People of big cities get double facility with education and quota. 5. Again quota for wards of freedom fighters is against the constitutional right of equality of opportunity in public employment. Although paying due respect to those who fought for the independence of the country is a must it may be considered more logical to show respect in other ways rather than providing employment to their wards in the Civil Service.70 6. Women are coming in good numbers in good positions. Women quota seems to be bearing some fruits as more women are getting into public service now however, women are doing very well in the competitive examinations. For such reasons getting job both for merit and district quota representation of women are increasing gradually.71 7. Social justice is necessary to uphold the position of backward people.

68

Ibid, p.36. [http://www.dhakatribune.com/bangladesh/2013/jul/12/experts-suggest-quota-system-review, Last visited on 25 December 2015] 70 Ibid, 71 Ramesh K. Arora, Comparative Public Administration, 2nd ed, (New Delhi: South Asian Publishers, 2008), p. 194 69

Chapter 6 RECOMONDATION AND CONCLUTION 6.1 Recommendation Quota should be replaced by affirmative action which to upgrade position of a particular area or class of people. To do this education, economic condition improves are of utmost necessity. In constitution the affirmative actions are created for backward section of people. But if at is ensured that people from all part of the country are provided by same opportunities, then the large percentage of quota can be abolished. For determining district quota some other criteria should be fixed up. Some persons are getting quota facilities earmarked for an underprivileged area should not have been considered because they are from affluent families and brought up and educated in prosperous areas. Most of the person get district quota for being an inhabitant of that particular area by birth. In most of the cases it is the person parents who were born in that area. This seems unjustified. The person gets education facilities of big cities but get facilities of being small city. Big cities get more quotas because of having more population. A study made by Dr. Ali Ahmed shows most of the candidates get chance from Chittagong district for it has larger population. It also shows that most of the CSPs were from that Division and naturally their children prepare themselves for similar status. This could also be questioned if many of them get chance for having district quota. Due to fewer population sizes some small cities do not get the quota facilities if there recruitment is not a big one. A study of PSC shows that to ensure employment at least one candidate from a district and one from a division 450 and 18 vacant post are required respectively. But advertisement for recruitment of so many candidates at a time is not generally made or possible. For quota of women the same findings should hold good. Study shows that the quota favored women who are from a well‐off or qualified parent. Making her

position up with quota facilities cannot stand. Some data shows women do better than men in examinations. The trend is noticed in successive civil service examinations conducted by the PSC. But women in higher position are very few. Efforts should be made to ensure participation of women in all tier of civil service according to their ratio in population make‐up. Quota for freedom fighters needs to be rearranged immediately. Constitution makes a room for backward citizens. But ranking and treating Freedom Fighters with backward citizen is not ethical and perhaps degrading for Freedom Fighters also for they suffered, toiled and sacrificed not for getting extra privilege rather to uphold the sanctity of the nation. The procedure of identifying freedom fighters also is not transparent and fraught with loopholes. In 1973 a special examination was held only for freedom fighters, yet favor is distributed to same group of people time and again. The time is ripe to do away with freedom fighters quota, if at all that is continued that should be scaled down to 10%. Favor should not be continued for a particular group of people for an unending period. The quotas for tribal, disabled people are so sensitive. That is why these quotas should be ensured transparently. It should also bear in mind that these quota is only for their participation in civil service. The total percentage which was fixed for them should be only fulfilled by them. While analyzing tribal quota it is found that the same family or same caste gets the quota. In this case the tribe is "Chakma". Time has come to minimize the entry of “Chakma" tribe instead only, and the other tribes and aboriginal people dispersed throughout the country should get this tribal quota. 6.1.2 Demands for Abolishment of Quota Quota is doing more harm than good has been argued by many. Quota system could be dandified as one of the main cause for deterioration of quality of civil service resulting in substandard service to the poor tax payers. But many people are of the opinion that if the people could be inducted in the service at an early age they could be molded through quality training and professionalism could be developed .

6.1.3 A Commission for Restructuring the Quota System Reshuffling of Quota System at the entry level, especially redistribution of Freedom Fighters/Issues of Freedom Fighters quota in favor of other category or merit quota may generate much heat and sensation. Event the Law makers on grounds of losing cheap popularity may be unwilling to make any change of it. Press and electronic media may misunderstand and misinterpret it. In spite of all these, the crying need of the time is to reconsider it to change. In view of the above, we think in case the quota cannot be removed due to Constitutional provisions, it can be radically reconstituted as follows: 1. 2. 3. 4.

National Merit Women Tribal District Merit Total

75% 10% 5% 10% =100%

6.2 Conclusion From the above discussions it becomes quite clear that the issue of quota requires to be seriously reviewed with a practical and long‐range view. Within the civil service itself there is a growing feeling that merit should be given more importance and it could lead to well trained and capable civil service with capacity to meet the challenges of 21st century. In fact there is no scope for second thought other than restructuring Quota reservation, Otherwise the constitutional provision may in reality become a deterrent rather enabler of ensuring equity and would grow into a huge barrier of ensuring meritocracy in the public sector in Bangladesh. Some said about the abolishment of quota system, but another group said about the reform of quota system in BCS. But there is no scope for second thought other than restructuring quota reservation. Otherwise the constitutional provision may in reality become a deterrent rather enable of ensuring equity. It would also grow into a huge barrier of ensuring meritocracy in the public Sector in Bangladesh. Now a day, it is common to all that, slowly the most meritorious students are lack of confidence for

represent civil service of Bangladesh. This situation now is under control. But, after a period of time, this situation can become uncontrolled and our desired civil service may become inefficient. This will be a great threat for ensuring our development.

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