Competitive, effective and capable bureaucracy is precondition for a country’s development. Bureaucracy is a delivery wing of government. Government’s success is measured on bureaucracy’s behavior.
Nepal government is facing repulsion of cream manpower. New generation chooses to work for corporate sector, INGOs, Reputed NGOs, International Organizations, and even move to developed countries. Only second benchers are in line in front of Public Service Commission’s advertisement.
Low remunerations
Low pay is not a major reason behind the no-attraction of new generation. Government job is not for being rich. It is to serve people. Some people give time and labour for social service voluntarily. Civil Society, NGOs, Politician, Social Workers, Campaigners work without wages. Civil servant is such an area where persons can do social work by getting paid.
Government works for economic stability. Inflation control is a major function of government. Government enterprises work to keep market fair through market intervention. They provide goods and services in reasonable prices.
If government swiftly increases civil servants’ salary, it forces private sectors to increase wages which triggers the inflation. As the government offers normal salary and wages, the government enterprises offer normal prices.
Government has to provide salary such that government employees can consume normal facilities. Sometimes salary is not reviewed in time. But in general, government salary scale is based on government’s capacity and national economy.
No scope
A person who has high-level skill, technical knowledge, innovative ideas, or alternative thinking, the scope in government jobs is very limited. In Nepal, we have world class IT experts, but government has no space to use their brain. Likewise, equipment and facilities are very limited for high-level medical expert to practice.
Highly skilled, and brilliant people think that if they engage in Nepal Government, they would be doll because there is no scope to retain their knowledge and groom it. So going abroad or self practice is compulsion for them.
Fear of abuse
Government job is mostly not result-oriented but process-oriented. Brilliant mind focuses on target not on process. Miner mistakes may occur in the process unknowingly. Somewhere procedure should be broken for a positive purpose. There is a huge fear of abuse in such condition in government job.
Bureaucracy is already corrupted. Corruption is institutionalized in Government system. It becomes very challenging to survive and grow in the work space for fair, honest and laborious persons. There is always a fear that oversight agencies accuse and imprisoned result-oriented employees.
Reservation
A weak person becomes senior to talent because of reservation quotas. Nepal government has separated 45 percent seats for the reservation, which forces a talent person to think that talent is not valued here. Therefore, such person wants to join the organizations where talent is appreciated.
Work Environment
An honest and dutiful person always wants to engage in own duties. They want to work fairly. But there is pressure to prioritize the services to powerful persons. There is also pressure to do undue work.
Intervention
It is true that government job is merely not for getting huge money. Civil servant has authority to make policy for country’s development. One should feel proud to be a part of nation building by contributing in policy formulation and implementation.
Theoretically, civil servant has role in making good policy. It is very important thing for brilliant and nation loving persons. But in reality, politician and high level bureaucracy do not hear honest and good ideas from talent officials.
Public policy is guided by undue interest group. Government neglects the good suggestions from its talent employees. That’s why new generation does not want to join the Nepalese government job.
Discrimination
Basic salary is equal for cheat and hard-working personnel in government job. That makes it hard for hard-working employees. Extra facilities, opportunities and allowance are mainly provided to cheat group. There is dominance of politically biased personnel group who do not fulfill their own duties and responsibilities properly.
Politically biased, flattery and corrupted group are barriers for any change management and reform in administration. They are backed by power. They always work for personnel benefit rather than working for the nation and the people.
Carrier path
In theory, there is good carrier path in government job. It begins from junior assistant (kharidar) and ends in chief secretary. There is no political appointment. After retirement there are also opportunities to serve the society by appointing in constitutional bodies.
But in reality, performance evaluation and promotion system are neither transparent nor scientific in government employment. A talent person looks predictable and self evaluative promotion system.
In Conclusion
A logic that is said, remuneration should be made at high level to attract talent persons in government job, is not true. If a person is talent and also wants to join in government for money, that should not be accepted. Government job is mainly for social work by getting a normal salary.
For a person who is talent and interested to join the government job even though salary is nominal, there are many discouragement factors. We should improve in recruitment system, work environment, work culture, opportunity distribution system, governance system, policy making, performance evaluation system, change management and avenue opening.
प्रतिक्रिया दिनुहोस
