MOST English dailies reported that the Public Service Commission (PSC) has renewed its recommendation to ease the Quota system in government jobs as it was not possible to overcome the problem relating to applying the system. According to the news report, the PSC’s proposal (made in March 2009) has not been implemented yet even after six years. Apparently the PSC found its application on the present quota-related regulations to be very complex, difficult as well as time-consuming. Officials also mentioned how it is almost impossible to select suitable candidates 100 percent flawlessly due to the complexity of the existing quota system. According to reports, the Quota system was introduced in the country in 1972 through an executive order with a view to bring disadvantaged citizens into the path of advancement and so far, 45 percent of government jobs are open for merit-based selection and the remaining 55 percent are reserved for various quotas (including 30 percent for freedom fighters’ children and grandchildren, 10 percent for women, 10 per cent for district quotas and 5 percent for indigenous communities). Under the circumstances, the Commission thinks it is indispensable to ease the existing quota application system to select suitable candidates through BCS examination, according to the reports. The lack of implementation of PSC’s proposal shows the unfortunate inefficiency that exists in the civil system. What is surprising is that it was practically near-impossible to implement the proposal of PSC in the past six years. Before enforcing the proposal, the PSC should have analysed all the possible outcomes in order to avoid national time lags due to failed implementation. Because of the unnecessary delay, it seems that this was also a ploy to engage in corruption by using the quotas meant for merit based recruitment and giving them to the ruling party supporters. The candidate selection system has been proven to be flawed as enough background checks are not done before selecting a candidate (many pretended to be freedom fighters earlier to get the jobs) and allowing corruption to breed in the selection process was an unethical wrong-doing. We hope the PSC stops behaving this way and makes future plans keeping practical implementation in mind instead of wasting hundreds of days and taxpayer money trying the trial and error process. For raising up an efficient and smart bureaucracy, professionally proficient, merit based recruitment system is the first and most-important factor or criteria. Jobs, more so the recruitment system, cannot be a matter of inheritance. The sooner the quota system can be done away with the better will be national efficiency level.
