The ADB is ready to assist Nepal in its efforts in civil service reform

As you are all aware, efforts at civil service reform are not new to Nepal. Successive governments have undertaken various initiatives since the mid-1950s to introduce reforms in the civil service. While some reforms where successfully implemented, these have had relatively little impact and there has been growing dissatisfaction with the way in which the service has been functioning. This led to a detailed study in 1992, executed by the Administrative Reform Committee, under the direction of the current Hon. Prime Minister. The report contained some 85 recommendations on changes to be made in the civil service, in order to make it more affordable, more responsive to modern needs, and better motivated. In the 8 years following the study, a number of recommendations were implemented, but often not completely or wholeheartedly. This has led to the perception that the situation today is even worse than in the early 1990s. Indeed, many of the problems facing Nepal today, including weak and poor governance, are blamed on the civil service.

Against this background of general disappointment with the lack of progress with administrative reform, as well as the difficulties and complexities of reform and the obstacles faced by the reform process, the Government approached ADB for assistance. The ADB is pleased to assist the Government in its efforts in civil service reform for a number of reasons. Firstly, and like most of our donor colleagues, we believe that reform of the civil service is one of the most critical priorities facing Nepal in its effort to promote more effective development and thereby reduce poverty.  Second, the effective delivery of development services to the people requires a different civil service to that which exists today. Thirdly, we believe that despite the obvious political and other obstacles to reform, it is possible to design and implement a reform program that will leave most interested parties better off. And finally, the implementation of a civil service reform programs carries with it considerable costs and the Government will need support in meeting these costs.

Allow me now to highlight a number of important aspects of civil service reform that we think need to be kept in mind while designing and implementing the reform program. First, what is the core problem of civil service reform in Nepal?  While civil service reform has tended to be equated with a downsizing in the civil service, in our view, the size of the civil service is not the core problem. Compared with many other developing countries, including its near neighbors, Nepal's civil service is small relative to its population. While for reasons of affordability some reduction in the size of the civil service is necessary, we believe that the core problem is not the size of the civil service but rather its very  wide mandate, and the way in which the civil service is organized. The large mandate of the civil service means that it reaches into almost every aspect of Nepali economic and social life. However, the civil service cannot fulfil this mandate because of limited staff, limited budget and a lack of specialized training. The wide mandate is also in contradiction with the liberalization policies of the Government, which can only be successful if the public sector releases its grip on the economy. The key question therefore is that of the role of Government in the economy. As I have mentioned on a number of other occasions, the role of Government must increasingly shift from being that of a ‘doer’ to that of a ‘facilitator’. The Government will have to make choices regarding its core functions and those functions, which it currently performs but which are better left to others. These are not easy choices, but they are necessary to ensure that meaningful reforms are implemented

A second issue we see as being important is that of personnel management. The complaint often heard is that civil servants are not motivated, have no interest in doing their job, and fail to respond to requests from the public. Usually in the same breath, the issue of the low pay scales is mentioned as the principal cause. This portrays a rather cynical view of Nepal's civil servants.  While undoubtedly the issue of pay is very, very important, many other factors contribute to the low morale that exists. To name a few, the absence of career progression based on merit, the absence of a credible performance monitoring and feedback system, the absence of clear job descriptions and individual responsibility, the lack of accountability, increasing political interference and patronage and so on.  Modern personnel management systems and practices, that recognize and promote the talents and capacities of individuals, would go a long way to addressing many of these problems.

A third issue I would like to highlight is the fact that civil service reform goes beyond just administrative reform. For instance, the compensation package of civil servants is so low that it is difficult for civil servants to provide for their families. Increasing pay differentiation and introducing some form of performance related salaries would be a start. But ultimately, given the fact that 95 percent of the re-current budget consists of personnel related expenditures, it is clear that the only way to substantially increase civil service wages is to increase revenue mobilization.

Fourth, corruption must be tackled. As the results of the Survey of Civil Service Management Issues indicates, after poor pay and benefits, high level corruption is seen as the major problem facing the civil service, while problems of corruption at all levels is widely recognized. Of course, the reform of the civil service, including improvements in pay, improved personnel policies, clearer accountability and enhanced transparency, is itself one of the key ways of trying to reduce corruption. However, these will all take time to have their impact. In the meantime, other measures must be taken to reduce corruption to prevent this from further undermining staff morale and the commitment to reform.

Clearly, the process of civil service reform is complex and will take some time to complete. This will not be a one-off activity. As the world around us changes, the civil service will have to continue to change in order for it to remain relevant and effective. This calls for an organizational model which puts the clients first but the employees at its center, allows for flexibility and provides regular training so that staff always have the latest tools and skills at hand to meet these challenges.

Thus, as noted above, civil service reform in Nepal must go a long way beyond simply retrenchment. In fact, rather than retrenchment, civil service reform is about refocusing, reorganization, retooling and retraining. It is about strengthening the effectiveness and capacity of the civil service, not about weakening it.

All of you gathered here today will be the direct beneficiaries of the reform process and will have to be instrumental in carrying the reform process forward.   Civil service reform is about your future and the future of the whole civil service. This is the reason why it is so crucial that all of you are actively involved in the reform process. The consultants have been advising and assisting, but reform cannot just be imposed from outside. That is why the technical assistance has, from its beginning in June 1999, been implemented in a participatory manner. A whole series of workshops and seminars have been organized since last June and a major survey conducted in conjunction with the civil service census. Over the last week, two major seminar retreats were organized in and around Kathmandu to facilitate discussion on the principal findings of the technical assistance and the draft action plan with the aim of building greater understanding and consensus from within the civil service on the most appropriate way forward. Today's workshop is a further important step in this process.

The consultants have done an excellent job in helping HMGN by providing in their draft final report such a comprehensive analysis of problems and possible solutions. However, these recommendations need to be carefully reviewed by the key stakeholders, including all of you here today, to ensure that the proposed reforms and their timing are practical and implementable and that there is clear ownership of what will be HMGN's Action Plan. As with the earlier retreats this week, your inputs will therefore help in finalizing the draft Action Plan. This will then be subject to further discussion between HMGN and ADB.

Hon. Deputy Prime Minister, ladies and gentlemen, we are greatly encouraged by the fact that the new government has identified civil service reform as one of its top priorities along with more general efforts to improve governance. The recent establishment of a Cabinet Sub-Committee, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, to oversee administrative reform, is a further positive step, which we welcome. However, much more difficult decisions lie ahead, many of which will need to be taken in the coming months as we seek to finalize the scope and timing of the proposed loan assistance from ADB to support the reform process.

Politics of Education in Nepal

Dr.Ram Kumar Dahal, T.U

Higher Education:

The Higher Secondary Education

The post-1990 governments have encouraged the concept of multi-universities and accordingly, tree universities- TU, Kathmandu University (KU) and Mahendra Sanskrit University (MSU) are operating functioning in Nepal under the sphere of higher education. Besides them, under the decentralization scheme in educational sector, two more universities- Eastern University (Purbanchal Viswobidhyalaya) and Western University (Paschimanchal Vishwobidhyalaya) were also established at Biratnagar and Pokhara respectively but are still at primary stage. In the higher education, private sector has also been encouraged and accordingly, medical, technical and engineering institutions are also operating under the three universities. The total number of campuses affiliated with TU in FY 1998/99 reached 215 (61 university campuses and 154 private campuses) as compared to 201 in FY 1997/98. Number of students enrolled for higher education in the campuses, including the private ones, of these three universities is estimated at 143,336. This figure is higher than the corresponding figure 142,444 of previous year by 0.6 percent (HMG, MOF, 1999: 159-162). TU has been playing important role in the educational development of the country and the production of technical manpower in Nepal. In FY 1997/98 total technical manpower produced by TU was 929 of which 332 were in Engineering, 116 in Agricultural and Animal Sciences 390 in Medicine and 91 in Forestry. The corresponding figures in FY 1996/97 were 255,75,365 and 166 respectively. In FY 1996/97 TU offered Ph.D. to 11 persons (HMG, MOF, 1999: 162-63).

KU, next to TU, had 2085 students (338 in Engineering, 802 in Medicine, 570 in Science and Technology, 96 in Management, 67 in Humanities and Social Sciences (HASC) and inrolled in AY 1997'98. The figure has increased by 26.1 percent and reached 2629 in AY 1998/99. (162 in Education) enrolled in AY 1997/98. The figure has increased by 26.1 percent and reached 2629 in AY 1998/99. The number of students enrolled in the campuses patronized by and affiliated to MSU, (established to extend and provide continuity of Sanskrit language teaching as well as to provide knowledge of traditional religion, moral code, good conduct, knowledge of Sanskrit language and also to provide encouragement to them) was 1100 in FY 1997/98 whereas it increased by 110.1 percent and reached 2311 in FY 1998/99 (HMG, MOF, 1999: 163) 155-163.

Despite the proliferation of several private educational institutions, universities and foundations after the restoration of MPD in 1990, The Nepalese education system is wandering aimlessly (Malla, 1970) Education in Nepal is increasing becoming costlier which has further created inequalities and disparities. As the poor and lower class people cannot afford sufficient money for the English medicate private boarding schools they have to option except to study in government schools which in practice do not provide effective and qualitative education to them. The increasing influence of partisan politics or hyper politicization in the management of education, teaching research and administration since 1990 has furthered encouraged inequalities and disparities in education institutions in Nepal, including their increasing commercialization and placing in the economic model of privatization have further complicated the access of weaker sections in educational institutions.

The universities in Nepal do not get proper encouragement except nominal financial assistance for their flourishment. Due to the lack of proper and adequate financial support, and due to the unpracticed policy. The four research centre within the TU- the CNAS, CEDA, RECAST and CERID, have almost become dysfunctional. The investment on research by TU in less than two percent of the university budget. The appointment of university authorities on the basis of their political ideology, the extreme polarization of teachers and officials (recently T.U. officials had contested their candidacy with the   election symbols like 'sun' and tree, thus showing their direct affiliation with the principal political parties) and the formation of progressive teachers, separate association and a lot of factors have further complicated the higher education in Nepal.

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