ISLAMABAD – PM Imran Khan unveils new promotion criteria for the topbureaucratic promotions in Pakistan.
The federal government has empowered the Central Selection Board (CSB) topromote bureaucrats on their reputation and performance rather thanseniority.
In the latest development, the CSB has increased its discretionary marksfrom 15 to 30 – allowing any bureaucrat on lowers ranks to supersede theirseniors based on overall markings.
According to the new rule, okayed by the Prime Minister and notified onDecember 3, the promotion of civil servants will be based on three criteria:
1. Annual Confidential Report (ACR) 2. Specialized Courses Taken by the Individual 3. Evaluation by CSB
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As per the rule, inducted in the official gazette of the Civil ServantsPromotion (BPS-18 to BPS-21) Rules 2019, CSB members will have more say inthe promotion of a candidate with 30 discretionary marks. Professionalcourses taken by a bureaucrat will add 30 more to the tally, while theremaining 40 are reserved for the ACRs.
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Previously, promotions for civil servants were much easier as it mostlydepended on the number of courses taken by an individual, and annualreports with the selection board members having no say.
A bureaucrat could get promoted even after receiving zero ratings from CSB.However, under this rule, every civil servant will be required to secure atleast 60 to 70 percent marks in CSB to get promoted.
Describing the effectiveness of the new rule, Prime Minister’s Adviser onEstablishment Shahzad Arbab highlighted that increasing discretion powerfor CSB was very important to promote merit in the system.——————————
As per my personal experience, the CSB generally makes an objectiveassessment as it examines each and every officer for promotion. You cannotgauge eligibility of the officers on annual reports as almost every officergets an outstanding ACR.
He noted that the proposal was forwarded by the secretaries committee,which comprises all federal secretaries and is led by the cabinet secretary.
Arbab mentioned that the move is not politically motivated and aims topromote meritocracy.
