Editorial
Public service employment
Merit should be the prime consideration
While we condemn the violence by the agitating BCS candidates, we feel the government should urgently go into the reasons for the agitation. The protest was against the quota system, particularly the way the policy has been applied in this instance.
There are two issues that we want to flag here.
Firstly, the manner in which the policy has been applied in this case is quite incomprehensible. A well-intentioned policy becomes inequitable when candidates with higher marks are discarded in favour of those with lower marks, at the very preliminary stage, just to fulfill the quota system. A certain datum level will have to be attained by all the aspirants before they can merit to be considered for employment. Otherwise quality will suffer.
Secondly, the situation calls for revisiting the quota policy, particularly the very wide ambit of its use. Under the present policy only 45 percent of the candidates are employed on merit. The rest 55 percent vacancy are reserved for various categories. Understandably, there is need to have special dispensation for backward sections of the citizens for their adequate representation in the service of the Republic, as stipulated in the constitution. But we wonder whether all those included in the quota list do really fall in the criterion of 'backward' section of the society.
We feel that merit should be the main consideration for employment in public service, even when one seeks to employ affirmative action. Otherwise the state will end up with a very mediocre class of public servants.
For all latest news, follow The Daily Star's Google News channel.
Comments