OPINION (Spotlight Weekly)

Counterfeit Certificates In Civil Service

By MOHAN PRASAD DHAKAL

Nepal's civil service seems to have lost its track, particularly after the political change of 1990. It could not change its pattern of functioning in accordance with the ideology of multiparty democracy. Development on all fronts of the nation has not been as desired. The civil service, the major executive organ of the government, seems to be lost in the whirlpool of ineffectiveness, politicization and frivolity. Its performance does not reflect the norms and values of democracy. There are numerous setbacks in the organization itself, but two issues are in the media limelight. They have triggered intense debate within the corridors of government offices. These two issues are the high incidence of counterfeit certificate holders and cheating on retirement age in the central service records.

The issue of fake certificates has grabbed widespread attention through different media. This issue was highlighted particularly after the statement made by then secretary of the Public Service Commission (PSC) some time ago in an interview with a local daily. The statement fueled queries and prompted mental exercise among leading scholars of public administration. Subsequently, it drew the attention of lawmakers in a parliamentary committee, although the issue now seems to have settled down without proper follow-up.

Until recently, the issue of counterfeit certificate holders in the civil service was under cover. Yet, no action is being initiated to do away with the practice. Do the officials who are responsible for investigating such problems have no courage to speed up the probe? Why is the urgency of investigating a matter of such national interest not being felt? What makes the officials so passive in probing a matter that is contaminating the whole civil service? Why are organizations like the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority and the Special Police Department reluctant to take immediate action to identify phony degree holders who may even be in important decision-making positions?

Organizations responsible for dealing with such problems should be empowered not only through sufficient statutory authority but also through strong physical and moral support from the government. They must be provided with sufficient budget and specially trained manpower. For their part, these organizations must clarify, at least to the public, the main constraints hindering their work.

The civil service, on the other hand, is becoming increasingly passive. Everybody can observe that the civil service as a whole is so contaminated that not a single government office or corporation —barring a few exceptions—seems to be free of corruption and scandal. The inflow of incompetent, short-sighted and under-qualified personnel are responsible for this. Our experience, particularly after the popular change in 1990, has shown that every issue starts with good intentions but ends up with bad execution, resulting in entirely adverse effects. This time, let us hope that the good job initiated by the House of Representatives State Affairs Committee is taken to its logical conclusion before it is too late.

The issue of cheating on retirement age is another major problem in Nepal's civil service. Investigation on this matter has become a complex job for those who are examining it. Those involved are still holding top executive posts. The result and confirmation on such malpractice hopefully may appear later when the investigation is completed. Questions have been raised against personnel records maintained in the Department of Civil Service Records. The secretaries who headed the Department of Civil Service Records as secretary of Ministry of General Administration reportedly engaged in correcting the record of their own age in order to cling onto their positions longer.

In such a situation, even a layman can assess and evaluate the level of knowledge and the quality of senior position holders responsible for framing national policies. This clearly indicates how serious the situation in Nepalese civil service is. Plenty of other cases may surface if the investigation is made more intensive.

In recent decades, the civil service in Nepal has largely failed to attract talented sections of the young generation. The blame goes to present education system as a whole and course of study and selection process on the part of the PSC. The products of government schools in general are less competent than their private-school counterparts. Better educated manpower are less attracted toward government service and have the tendency to serve abroad, whereas low-standard people are dumped and have constantly tried to enter the government service. The problem of brain drain has become a major challenge in Nepal. Doctors, engineers, specialists and IT experts always have gone abroad in search of greener pastures whereas dull manpower such as those holding sub-standard certificates compete in the PSC exams. The selected ones are from among these people who go on to hold officer posts later. The PSC has not been able to select competent manpower through the best selection process.

The syllabus of PSC itself is defective, which cannot supply best personnel to government organizations. English education has been always neglected in the PSC syllabus. Throughout the world, English has become a major source of knowledge, but in Nepal the case is opposite. The dumped section always creates trouble when the PSC tries to put at least one compulsory subject of English in the syllabus.

If we want to attract better talent in the civil service, we should make at least one English subject a compulsory paper in PSC course of study. But who would dare do that when opponents of English are occupying top policy-making positions?

(Dhakal is the acting director at the Public Service Commission, central regional office)