Central Superior Services
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The Central Superior Services (CSS; or Civil Service) is a permanent elite civil service authority and the civil service that is responsible for running the bureaucratic operations and government secretariats and directorates of the Cabinet of Pakistan.[1] The Prime Minister is the final authority on all matters regarding the civil service.
The civil service defined itself as "key wheels on which the entire engine of the state has to move."
The Civil Service of Pakistan selects only 7.5% of the applicants by
Constitutional structure
The
Appointment to service of Pakistan and conditions of service: (a) in the case of the civil services of the Federation, posts in connection with the affairs of the Federation and Civil Services by the Parliament).
(b) in the case of the services of provinces, the posts in connection with the affairs of the Provinces, by an act of the Provincial Assembly.
Existing rules: All rules and orders in force immediately before the commencing day shall, so far as consistent with the provisions of the Constitution.
Public Service Commission: The Parliament in relation to the affairs of the Federation, and the Provincial Assemblies of the Provinces in relation to affairs of the Provinces, may, by law, provide for the establishment and constitution of a Public Service Commission.— Part XII: Chapter 1: Services and Miscellaneous [Article 240–242], source[4]
Naming convention
The Constitution of Pakistan does not set the legal name for the civil service, and there is no service named "Central Superior Services of Pakistan" (or CSS).[9] The constitution allowed the government-appointed officer and chairman of the Federal Public Service Commission of Pakistan to choose the name.[9] The term "CSS" emerged during the first public examination of the civil service for the appointment on posts at officer entry-level in the occupational groups of All-Pakistan Unified Group (APUG).[9] The Federal Public Service Commission holds the combined competitive exam annually under the title advertised as exam for "Central Superior Services"— the term of colonial days which survived reforms.[9] Similarly, the use of the word "Central" instead of "Federal" as well as the term "Superior" is also the legacy of the past.[9] These were relevant when there was central government under 1956 constitution and classes existed in the civil service.[9] The 1973 constitution abolished all classes in the civil service as the concept of occupational groups was introduced.[9]
Act
Following the foundations laid in the Constitution, the federal government promulgated The Civil Servants Act, 1973 and each province enacted its own Civil Servants Acts. The law allows the civil service of the federation and provinces to be regulated as per rules notified under these enactments. Consequently, both governments have notified Civil Servants (Appointment, Transfer, and Promotion) Rules, 1974. These rules regulate the qualification and method (the way) of filling all posts. The posts at the initial officer level, i.e. BS-17, are classified to be filled by way of promotion or transfer and by direct recruitment under share fixed for each category. The recommendation for appointment in BS-17, under direct recruitment share, is done by the Federal Public Service Commission, established under its law as a requirement of the Constitution. The rest of the posts reserved for departmental officers under promotion quota and posts under appointment by transfer are confined to officers inducted through a lateral entry or for hardship cases coming from the surplus pool. Practically, those appointed on posts in direct appointment quota in each occupational group through the CSS Exam have a natural advantage. They join service at a younger age than departmental officers and reach the highest slots. Since the number of direct officers at the entry-level is few, their quotas in posts in BS-18 to BS-22 are fixed on the higher side; therefore, their promotions are fast-paced. These arrangements make the civil service attractive for talented individuals and instil a sense of superiority and pride. Currently, CSS exams conducted by the Federal Public Service Commission include the following Occupational Groups.
- Foreign Service of Pakistan[10]
- Pakistan Administrative Service[11]
- Police Service of Pakistan[12]
- Inland Revenue Service of Pakistan[13]
- Pakistan Customs Services[14]
- Commerce & Trade Group[15]
- Information Services of Pakistan[16]
- Military Lands & Cantonment Group
- Office Management and Secretariat Group
- Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service[17]
- Postal Group[18]
- Railways (Commercial & Transport) Group[16]
History of civil services in Pakistan
... Civil Service is the backbone of the State. Governments are formed. Governments are defeated; Prime Ministers come and go; Ministers come and go; but you stay on, and therefore, there is a very great responsibility placed on your shoulders ...
—Founder of Pakistan, source[2]
Civil Bureaucracy is a colonial legacy in this part of the world. The British used to rule the native population through Indian Civil Service (ICS) and most of the officers in ICS were British themselves. It was in the early 20th century that the Indians also started competing against the British and many Indians eventually made it to the ICS. With the independence of Pakistan in 1947, the term 'Central Superior Services' was used in Pakistan, and the concept of All-Pakistan Services continued. The latter consisted of the Civil Service of Pakistan and the Police Service of Pakistan, whereas the Central Services included the Pakistan Foreign Service and a broad category of Finance and other services. The Finance category included the Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service, Pakistan Railway Accounts Service, Pakistan Military Accounts Service, Pakistan Taxation Service, and the Pakistan Customs and Excise Service. Other central services included the Pakistan Postal Service, Pakistan Military Land and Cantonment Service, Central Secretariat Service, and Central Information Service. Each of these services had its own cadre and composition rules, specifying the total cadre strength in terms of its number of positions.
With the Civil Services Reforms of 1973, a new system of the common training program was introduced and all of these occupational groups (12 at that time) were required to go through a mandatory combined training at Civil Services Academy, Lahore. The batch of officers who attended the Civil Service Academy in 1973 is recognized as "1st Common". Up till 5th Common, the allocation of occupational groups was done after the culmination of the Common Training Program but from 6th Common onwards this task has also been assumed by Federal Public Service Commission. Even to this day, it is an official procedure that once the Probationary Officers successfully complete their common training program then they undergo some further Specialized Training Program (STP) in their own professional academies.
Pakistan Administrative Service
The
Armed forces and civil services of Pakistan
Commissioned officers of
Reform of civil services
Even though the Civil Services of Pakistan have been still running on the pattern set out by
2016 onwards reforms
The civil services reforms have been under consideration, and the Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Reforms Ahsan Iqbal has announced that the upper age limit would be increased to 30 years instead of 28 for taking the Central Superior Services (CSS) examination from 2017 onwards.;[24][25] whereas the increase educational qualification by 14 to 16 years.[26] The CSS Aspirants collected funds from their pocket money. They filed a petition for age relaxation in the Lahore High Court and Peshawar High Court.[27][28]
On August 2, 2016, the Planning Commission announced plans to restructure the examination process by dividing the Civil Superior Services (CSS) under three cluster programs comprising three categories including General, Finance, and Information by abolishing the existing generalized system.[29] The plan would come into effect from 2018 and would require participants to possess a four-year bachelor's degree in a relevant discipline, for information cluster, a degree in mass communication, journalism or information science will be required, while for finance cluster a degree in economics, finance or related discipline will be required.[30][31]
On January 1, 2016, the Planning Commission began phasing out the Annual Confidential Report (ACRs) with the key performance indicators (KPIs) to determine the promotions of civil servants.[32]
In 2019, the Prime Minister has constituted an Institutional Reforms cell (IRC) under the Cabinet Division. This cell is working under the chairmanship of Ishrat Hussain. The cell forces Federal Departments to acquire autonomous status, but the departments resist on multiple grounds.
Desired Reforms
Central Superior Services Examination is often critized on account of its limited representation, overemphasis on rote learning and lengthy process of recruitment. So, there is a greater need to design a balanced examination system by promoting diversity and inclusion as well as shortening its lengthy process of recruit without compromising quality. The reforms should aim at assesing wider range of candidates' skills including critical thinking, problem-solving and leadership potential. Furthermore, there is a need to introduce the elements like situational judgment, group discussions and case studies. Lastly, bureaucratic committment and political will is required to bring these reforms. [33]
CSS Examination and statistics
The CSS examination is extremely competitive; for every one aspirant selected, there are 200 who are not; in 2015, more than 36000 candidates competed for 158 posts as compared to 2011, when approximately 19,000 candidates participated in the open public examination of the civil service; only 8.0% of them were qualified for 188 government jobs. In 2019, a total of 14,521 candidates appeared in the exam, out of which only 214 (1.47%) were finally recommended by the Federal Public Service Commission for various posts under the federal government. [34]
CSS exams are held every year in the entire country. These are conducted by the Federal Public Service Commission of Pakistan, which also posts successful candidates to various civil service departments.
Only candidates between 21 and 30 years old can apply for CSS Exam. A candidate can appear for a maximum of three attempts. After 2020 FPSC has introduced MPT in order to shortlist the candidates before actual exams . it has been done 2 times till now 2023.CSS Exam has two major parts: a written test, which takes place in February or March, and a panel interview, which takes place in November. In the first part, the FPSC tests the students in 12 different subjects. Six subjects are compulsory, and 6 are optional. Candidates can choose six subjects of their own choice from many different options. There is a total of 1200 numbers, and a candidate must get 600 marks to pass the exam.[35]
See also
- Civil Services Academy
- Police Service of Pakistan
- Pakistan Administrative Service
- Federal Secretary
- Establishment Secretary of Pakistan
- Chief Secretary Punjab
- Chief Secretary Sindh
- Chief Secretary Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Chief Secretary Balochistan
- Deputy Commissioner
References
- ^ a b c Government Officials. "Civil Service of Pakistan". Government of Pakistan. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ a b c Government of Pakistan. "District Management Group". District Management Group. Archived from the original on 1 May 2011. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ Author. "Journey of System". Geo Television Series (Educational Directorate). Geo Documentaries. Archived from the original on 19 December 2021. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
{{cite web}}
:|last=
has generic name (help) - ^ a b Constitution of Pakistan. "Part XII: Chapter 1: Services (Miscellaneous Article 240)". Constitution of Pakistan. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ CSS. "Directorates of Civil Services". Government of Pakistan. Archived from the original on 28 August 2012. Retrieved 5 September 2012.
- ^ "CSS Exam in Pakistan - All Information". smadent.com.
- ^ https://www.fpsc.gov.pk/sites/default/files/Final-Result-CSS-2022.pdf [bare URL PDF]
- ^ "CSS exam 2021: FPSC announces result for written part - Geo.tv". 30 September 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g Editorial and Authorship reports and summaries (February 2010). "Reforming Pakistan's civil service". Asia Report. 1 (1). International Crises Group: 11–15.
- ^ "Civil Service of Pakistan". Csspk.com.
- ^ "Civil Service of Pakistan". Csspk.com.
- ^ "Civil Service of Pakistan". Csspk.com.
- ^ "Civil Service of Pakistan". Csspk.com.
- ^ "Civil Service of Pakistan". Csspk.com.
- ^ "Civil Service of Pakistan". Csspk.com.
- ^ a b "Civil Service of Pakistan". Csspk.com.
- ^ "Accounts Group – Civil Service of Pakistan". Csspk.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2007. Retrieved 22 March 2006.
- ^ "Civil Service of Pakistan". Csspk.com.
- ^ Malik Asad (25 May 2014). "Boon for PAS (Pakistan Administrative Service) angers other civil service groups". Dawn (newspaper). Retrieved 29 June 2018.
- ^ Ali, Sameen (July 2018). "Is the bureaucracy politically neutral during elections?". Dawn.com.
- ^ "Bureaucrats call for equal representation - The Express Tribune". Tribune.com.pk. 13 September 2018.
- ^ "FPSC Newsletter" (PDF). FPCS. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 14 July 2015.
- ^ Syed Hamzah Saleem Gilani (23 February 2015). "Reforming the Civil Services of Pakistan". Daily Times Pakistan. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ Hassaan Ahmed (3 January 2016). "Proposed CSS reforms get the nod of approval from relevant quarters". Pakistan Today. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ Abrar Saeed (10 September 2015). "Govt decides to modify CSS exam, training". NAWAIWAQT GROUP OF NEWSPAPERS. The Nation. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ Mehtab Haider (1 January 2016). "Educational qualification for CSS to be enhanced to 16 years, age limit by two years". THE NEWS INTERNATIONAL. The News. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
- ^ Pakistan Today (16 November 2012). "CSS age limit". Pakistan Today. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
- ^ Editor's Mail (19 November 2012). "Arguments in favour of age relaxation for CSS". Pakistan Today. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
{{cite news}}
:|last1=
has generic name (help) - ^ "Govt considering to conduct CSS exams in three categories". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- ^ "All set for cluster-based CSS exams". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- ^ "Breaking News: Federal government introduces three cluster program for CSS | Dunya News". 14 February 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- ^ "Educational qualification for CSS to be enhanced to 16 years, age limit by two years". www.thenews.com.pk. Retrieved 19 August 2016.
- ^ "Reforming Central Superior Services (CSS) Examination in Pakistan: Issues and Path Forward". PK At Glance. 31 March 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
- ^ Siddiqi, M. A. (25 April 2011). "A guide to the CSS: Want to change Pakistan? Try joining the government as an honest bureaucrat". The Express Tribune.
- ^ "CSS Exam Result 2020". Smadent. 2 May 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2020.
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