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HT Imam’s comments stun citizens

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Citizens, including academics and representatives of  anti-corruption watchdog, censured prime minister’s adviser HT Imam for his reported remarks assuring Chhatra League activists that their recruitment to class I gazetted officer posts would be ‘taken care of’, once they sit for the Bangladesh Civil Service exams.
HT Imam’s comments ‘Sit for the BCS exam, take written exam rigorously, we will take care of the viva voce exam’, was ‘unconstitutional’, encouraging more ‘politicisation’ of government recruitments at the cost of merits which was a matter of grave concern, they said.
If the government accepts HT Imam’s suggestions, it will frustrate and demoralise meritorious students as a large number of qualified applicants would not be able to enter public service already constrained by quotas, they said.
BCS examination, under the PSC, is a nationwide competitive examination. Only 11 per cent passed the 29th BCS preliminary exam, about 10 per cent in the 30th, about seven per cent in the 31st, about 15 per cent in the 33rd and about 20 per cent in the 34the BCS exam.
The examination is conducted in three phases – a 200-mark preliminary examination, 900-mark written examinations and 200-mark viva voce and a significant number of candidates become unsuccessful in the latter two exams.
In Bangladesh, only 44 per cent of job-seekers can compete for civil service jobs on the basis of merits while the rest 56 per cent are reserved for various quotas – the children of freedom fighters (30 per cent), female (10 per cent), districts (10 per cent), ethnic minorities (5 per cent) and physically challenged (1 per cent).
The 35th BCS preliminary examination will be held on February 6. A total of 2,44,107 applicants will take the test this year, which is the highest in BCS exam history.
‘Such remarks would create people’s mistrust in PSC as well as meritorious students would lose interest in joining government services,  the sign of which is already evident,’ said Dhaka University professor emeritus Serajul Islam Choudhury.
General students would be demoralised, sceptical about the integrity of PSC while the recruiting authority would be under pressure and activists of the ruling-party backed students organisation would feel more encouraged, he added.
Inefficiency is widespread in the administration due to recruitment of government officials on political consideration, former Dhaka University vice-chancellor Emajuddin Ahmed said.
‘It seems HT Imam wants the administration to be run by illiterate, inept and unskilled people,’ he said.
Former PSC member Mohammad Mohabbat Khan said that he was taken aback by the comments of HT Imam. ‘The image of the government will suffer for his comments. It would make people suspect that the government might have a plan to make recruitments mainly on political consideration.’
Transparency International Bangladesh executive director Iftekharuzzaman said that HT Imam’s comments were ‘unconstitutional’ and ‘discriminatory.’
He said the constitution of Bangladesh in its Article 29 (1) says, ‘There shall be equality of opportunity for all citizens in respect of employment or office in the service of the republic’.
HT Imam’s comments were ominous for the integrity of constitutional institutions like the PSC.
The citizens said that such statements by persons holding influential positions was unacceptable as it would encourage more corruption and stand in the way of good governance.
Bangladesh Jamaat e Islami in a statement said HT Imam’s comments reflected his corruption-prone thought. ‘During the Awami League governments, they recruited activists of Chhatra League and Juba League through corruption depriving others.’

Source: Newage

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