New Public Service Curriculum
For Quality Human Resource

By Dr. Niranjan Prasad Upadhyay

THE need for the Public Service Commission (PSC) was felt immediately after the establishment of a democratic form of government on February 18, 1951. The PSC was set up in July 1951 entrusting with the task of conducting examinations for recruitment to government service. Since its beginning, it has been maintaining its impartiality in the context of human resource mobilisation.

It seems clear that human resource management in general, and human resource planning in particular, will become more closely tied to the needs and strategies of organisations. Human resource mobilisation is the thread that ties together all human resource practices.

In the course of the present curriculum design, the Public Service Commission has introduced open, competitive examination syllabus for all Gazetted Third Class, Section Officers (non technical) on November 19,2001. This curriculum is formulated after rigorous exercises, workshop seminars in different regions of Nepal, interaction with higher government officers and public administration experts and imparting facts and figures about the necessities of changing previous syllabus through radios and television channels. Especially, the present curriculum is designed on the basis of the accumulation of detailed job descriptions of the various services like Administrative, Judiciary, Parliamentary and Auditing services.

Particularly, in the course design for Nepal Administrative and Judiciary services of all groups, the three papers of 300 marks, twelve hours time duration and subjective type of examination systems are implemented for selecting suitable and efficient manpower.

Generally, for all Services and Groups, Public Service Commission has introduced 100 marks subjective examination paper. This paper includes diversified topics related to public administration like decision-making process, methods of general administration, public personnel administration, development administration, finance administration, general information on statistics, information collection and analysis and knowledge of general presentation of statistics.

Especially, for the Nepal Administration Service, General Administration Group, the Public Service Commission has designed second paper curriculum of 100 marks. The paper covers various concepts of civil service and public management aspects. In this paper current trends related to management have been accumulated in diversified forms i.e. civil service and personnel administration, manpower management, administration and management aspects, administrative techniques, public finance administration and account, industrial revolution and industrial relation and miscellaneous. The third paper of General Administration bears 100 marks which covers development administration, decentralisation, local government and government policies.

Accordingly, for The Nepal General Administration, Finance Group, the candidate should appear in a 100 mark examination of second paper. The syllabus includes finance policy and finance administration. Also within this Group, the candidates should appear in a third paper examination of 100 marks. This paper includes current trends of finance policy and finance administration.

The Nepal Administrative Service, Account Group candidates should appear in a 100 marks second paper. This paper encompasses recent subjects on occupational account, statistics and account. The third paper of 100 marks in this Group possesses various aspects of investigation, international postal account and international relation, challenges of postal services and possibilities etc.

For the Nepal Administration Service, Diplomatic Group, the Public Service Commission has introduced the second and third papers of 100 marks each. The second paper has the subject title of "creative writing" which covers various sub titles i.e. translation from Nepali into English, short essay writing, comprehension, precis writing and diplomatic correspondence. The third paper of Diplomatic Group is of 100 marks and includes political and economic aspect and introduction to international law and practices.

In all groups of Judiciary Service candidates must appear in a 100 mark examination of second paper. The second paper of Judiciary Service holds general principles of law, constitutional law, judiciary system and judiciary administration, principles of international law, laws related to financial administration and emerging and developing trends of legal theories etc. In the course design of Judiciary Service of Government Advocate Group, the candidates should appear in a third paper examination of 100 marks. This Advocate Group paper carries various important topics like Attorney General, government advocate, international crime control etc. The third paper of Legal Group is of 100 marks and covers recent trends in legal fields. Accordingly, Law Group candidates must appear in a 100 marks examination. The third paper of Law Group bears legal formulation, management method, legal suggestion, international law, worldwide commercialisation and law etc.

Public Service Commission has also formulated a new course of study pertaining to Parliamentary Service of the Administration Group. In the context of new curriculum design of Parliamentary Service, the PSC has introduced second and third papers on having 50 marks and 100 marks respectively. The second paper of Parliamentary Service presents a relevant topic that is parliamentary system, fundamental rights in connection to Nepalese constitution, the procedure of budget formulation and laws relating to financial administration etc. The third paper of Parliamentary Service also concerns various topics related to Nepalese constitution, B.S.2047. In the process of new curriculum design, Public Service Commission has formulated a new curriculum of Auditing Service concerned to Auditing Officer. The second paper with 100 marks weightage covers divergent subjects viz. accounts, occupational audit system, auditing etc.

Public Service Commission has made a provision that after passing the subjective written examination, the candidates of all services should appear in Nepali and English comprehension, problem solution, psychological test and interview. These tests are of 125 marks.

Finally, new curriculum of PSC will be very valuable in supplying efficient and capable manpower to the government. Personnel management experts have stated that effective curriculum design is one basic factor of personnel recruitment and selection. In the course of human resource mobilisation, the
Public Service Commission, the National Planning Commission and the Ministry of General Administration have played an outstanding and influencial role. Also, organisational experts have emphasised that human resource management is an integral part of the administrative machinery for achieving the objectives and targeted goals of the government.

On The Occasion Of Independence Day Of Finland
Cooperation Cements Nepal-Finland Ties

By Arun Ranjit

Nepal, still a poor country with certain problems owing to its geographical position lies quite far away from Nordic (Scandinavian ) countries but is gradually becoming closer in many other ways.

The political, economic and social developments in Nepal have impressed the Nordic countries and earned considerable respect. Thus, Nepal and the Nordic countries have developed important ties in many areas.

The need to improve living standards for the poor majority of the world’s inhabitants, while at the same time preserving and improving the environment is a global challenge. Sustainable development has become one of the most important issues for international development. Deforestation is a major problem in many developing countries, sometimes resulting in negative consequences both regional and global.

The ever increasing use of energy is perhaps the greatest source of pollution, deforestation and erosion on a worldwide scale. Therefore we must follow a safe, environmentally sound and economically sustainable energy pathway. We can learn much from the Nordic countries.

After the establishment of diplomatic ties between Nepal and Finland in 1974 there have been many high level visits from both the countries and the bilateral economic cooperation began with the grant assistance of 6,000 metric tones of chemical fertilizers in 1983.

But today, Nepal is listed as a main recipient of Finnish bilateral cooperation. Finnish resources have been used in sectors such as forestry, power, telecommunications and agriculture.

Nepal is also main recipient of bilateral assistance from other Nordic countries in the field of telecommunication, forestry, environment, dairy, hydro-power etc.

Nepal’s main resources of energy are fuel-wood and to a certain extent hydro-power which is also called the "White Dollar". As the country’s very few percentage of population has an access to electricity Nepal’s per capita consumption of commercial energy is the lowest in any developing country.

Though Nepal is a country with large hydro-electricity resources it is as yet mostly unutilised. Thus the Nepalese government, through a project supported by the various international aid agencies, wishes to reverse this trend through measures such as better utilisation of existing electricity power and efficient management of hydro-electric resources.

In this regard, Nordic Development Fund (NDF), a joint Nordic development aid organisation of five Nordic countries — Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway and Sweden with its headquarters in Finnish capital Helsinki commenced its lending and grant assistance activities in February 1989 with an aim especially to promote economic and social development in the poorer developing countries human rights, democratic development, environmental concerns and the role of women in development.

NDF places considerable emphasis on environmental friendly projects which improve the human environment.

No doubt, hydro-power is a very important source of energy also in most Nordic countries. Thus, it is quite natural for the Nordic Development Fund to offer its assistance to the development process of Nepal. So, the credit agreement was signed on August 18, 1992 in Helsinki for US $ 5.8 million. That was the first agreement assistance between Nepal and NDF.

With the investment of four million SDR (US $ 5.8 million) credit from NDF in the Power Sector Efficiency Project, access to electricity for many consumers in Nepal improved. The results of the projects somehow increased the living standards of the people of Nepal and also reinforced economic development.

At the same time it is foreseen to have very important positive environ-mental effects. Use of firewood for energy will be reduced, thereby avoiding negative effects of deforestation.

The President of Nordic Development Fund told this scribe in Helsinki some months back that "We hope our contribution will make a positive result in the development in Nepal. NDF is hopeful to forward other credits in the coming days".

He also said, "Before we finance in any projects of any country we evaluate those projects for their impact on human environment and if it shows positive signs we finance".

Finland, with one third landmark (Europe’s fifth largest country in area; 338,000 sq. km.) situated farther north of the Artic Circle having 198,000 lakes, is the land where Santa Claus lives. This is a country of nice surprises from clean nature to the only True Sauna (the Finnish one), nights never setting sun, national dishes with everything there from Baltic herring to reindeer. Thrilling Lapland… and more than an exotic land, is Finland is a member of the Nordic family and is also one of the member of European Union with a parliamentary democracy.

The Finns with present per capita income amounting to around US $ 22,000 have a long history of their own but as an independent state, Finland is only 83-year-old after she got independence from the then Soviet Union in 1918.

In order to strengthening the cooperation between people’s level from both the countries many promotional programmes were held in the Daughter of Baltic city — Helsinki.

To boost the existing relation between Nepal and Finland, the Finnish government established residential embassy in Kathmandu in 1992 and the visits of various high level leaders and government officials added a milestone in the political, economic, social and other faces.

The recent visits of Finnish Environment Minister and the ministers from Nepal have also become very fruitful to get considerable assistance from the Finnish government itself and from Nordic Development Fund too for the economic infrastructure development of Nepal, particularly in energy and forestry sectors.

It can be helped that this will further cement the amicable ties between Himalayan Kingdom of Nepal and the Land of Lakes— Finland.

So, on the occasion of the Independence Day of the Finland, we expect the relations between the two countries at government and people’s level to grow in the days to come.

Long live Nepal-Finland friendship ties.
Bureaucrats, Technocrats And Democrats

By Ujjwal Lamsal

HYPOCRITE, aristocrat, autocrat - the list of ‘crats’ seems to go on and on, but we will focus our attention on more simple and humble crates like bureaucrats and democrats. Etymologically the word "bureaucrat’ seems to spring from ‘bureau’ which means writing desk with drawers, similarly ‘democrat’ is derived from democracy and democracy in turn is abstacted from the Greek - ‘demos’ and ‘kratos’ - meaning peoples’ rule and hence ‘democrat’ would mean ‘advocate of the peoples’ rule’. The word ‘technocrat’ is dubious, both in its origin and meaning. Technically ‘techno’ means ‘of the applied sciences’ but technocracy seems to have got its proper meaning after ‘The Great Depression’ of the 1930’s.

Practically bureaucracy is a system of management by bureaus, here "bureaus’ mean ‘a department of public administration’ each bureaus controlled by a chief, commissioner or director and collectively the whole bunch operating inside the bureau system known as bureaucrats. In defining bureaucracy the ‘tool theorists’ and the ‘coconut theorists take preeminence over all other theorists. The tool theorists believe and bureaucracy is a tool in the hands of whoever knows how to run it, guided by rationality and authority and controlled by knowledge, is a means of achieving ends. On the other hand the ‘coconut theorists’ believe that bureaucratisation or the proliferation of ‘bureaus’ is bureaucracy’, they think it will better facilitate organisational harmony and public administration both. The tool theorists have a world of their own. They believe that recruitment and remuneration should be strictly on the basis of impersonal relationship. They believe that bureaucracy is better managed by extensive division of labour, thereby affecting the authority and the structure affirmatively. The wide rift between the tool theorists and coconut theorists has left the ground open for other theorists like the ‘paper theorists’. They believe that bureaucracy is pen and papers, the indulgence in pen and paper, with stress on conservative action and rationality is bureaucracy proper. From Weather Bureau to Bureau of Internal Revenue one of the other version of bureaucracy is applicable, hence an exact definition of bureau is left to the readers.

Technocracy means the replacement of the Weather Bureau by the weathervane, but the meaning of the word according to Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary is control or management of a country’s industrial resources by technical experts. The word ‘technocrat’ is a coinage of the early 20th century. After The Great Depression of the 1930’s experts of applied sciences forwarded committees like Continental Committee on Technocracy to reform industries in the public interest and control it. Management can be considered an important part of technocracy, transformation of mechanical and often repetitive acts of science into an art for an industry would mean ‘technology’ and a person skilled in a particular technology would be an ‘expert’ so ‘technocracy’ would roughly be an even mix of an expert, technology and management. A ‘technocrat’ would be one with the knowledge of all three factors while technocracy would be coordination, cooperation and harmony among the three. The major problem with technocracy is a technocrat becomes an inseparable part of it making technocracy inexplicable phenomena and leading us to the conclusion that ‘what technocrat does is technocracy’.

And hence we arrive at democracy, the most vague and bizarre of all ‘cracies’. From ancient Athenian states to medieval Europe to present day banana republics volumes have been written about ‘democracy’. In a typical dictionary sense it is a system that ensures the basic rights of every citizen like speech, religion and political opinion an upholds the rule of law so a ‘democrat’ would imply one who exercises these rights or an adherent believer of democracy. The democracy and its functional form has been categorised into various groups like direct democracy significancy majority rule, representatives democracy signifying again a majority rule through representatives where hereditary or arbitrary difference in rank and privilege is restrained through equality of rights, economic democracy signifying minimisation of social and economic difference. Another version of democracy says that it is the exercise of the power of majority taking into consideration the minority and the constitution, so for the exact meaning of the word, we resort to its literal meaning ‘kratos’ ‘demos’.

In a broad sense ‘bureaucracy’ would mean ‘Civil Service’ that constitutes the framework of administration, while independence of judiciary and freedom of expression constitutes ‘democracy’. Similarly technocracy would mean efficiency far from the clamors of politics it can mean productivity. Last but not the least ‘hypocrisy’ can be considered an integral part of democracy and at times it can be an effective tool to handle bureaucracy or democracy.