In the aftermath of the 1857 Indian Rebellion in the British Indian Empire, the British government introduced the Imperial Civil Service (ICS) in 1858, to oversee all government activity in British India of the time. The steel frame, as this service came to be known, ruled over the Indian Subcontinent's 300 million subjects from 1858 to the time of independence in 1947.
The service was there to "rule" the subjects of India and to "serve" the Queen. Initially, the 1,000 officers were all British from top schools in Britain. In time, Indian subjects were also allowed to join the ranks through strict merit, with a view to have officers who would look Indian, speak Indian, but think British.
The echo of the steel frame continues to reverberate even after almost 80 years of independence. The Central Superior Service of Pakistan (CSS) proudly upholds the legacy of the ICS. Despite the clear vision of the founder, Jinnah, that the officers were to be servants, not rulers, the CSS officers have pressed on to "rule" the citizens of Pakistan while serving the interests of the "ruling elite" that has originated and organised itself after the departure of the colonial masters.
Attempts to reform civil service through dozens of committees and commissions have resulted in inconsequential changes in nomenclature at best. The examination system for recruiting future civil servants is based on the needs of olden times. The central exam and interview assess the cognitive ability of the candidates while aligning the successful ones in different fields based on the marks obtained. In a way, this examination system is unique in that the candidate does not know what s/he is preparing for until after receiving the the exam's result.
Meaningful and practical reforms are needed in our civil service to link it to modern-day needs. I have been advocating for over a decade to abolish the current structure of a "common" exam and replace it with "departmental" exams based on the criteria of "relevance and competence". This would entail the Public Service Commission conducting separate exams in different fields for candidates with the requisite academic background in a particular field. Each department will then induct successful candidates that satisfy the "relevance and competence" yardstick. In effect, this will create "departmental hierarchies" that will provide training and career paths to groom the candidates into specialists.
It will perhaps be straightforward to accomplish this in most of the almost dozen existing groups, except in the Pakistan Administrative Service (PAS), formerly known as the District Management Group (DMG). Being the top choice of candidates and through the occupation of a vast network of prime governmental posts, PAS wields the real power akin to that held by the ICS in colonial times. PAS officers are trained to manage sub-districts, districts, divisions and, eventually, government departments. This gives them broad exposure to the country's landscape and allows them to acquire skills in public dealing. However, in today's fast-moving world driven by technology, these skills, while useful, are neither relevant nor effective. The administration and management of districts is a task of local government, while if the suggested reforms are implemented, the management of departments/divisions will rest with the respective vertical bureaucracies of each department. PAS should, therefore, be devolved to the third tier of government so that this service can assist local governments in effectively managing districts.
I have been advocating for over a decade to abolish the current structure of a "common" exam and replace it with "departmental" exams based on the criteria of "relevance and competence"
An extremely important aspect missing from the current structure of the civil service of Pakistan is its ability and capacity to understand and manage the country's finances and economy. In a globalised world, this is a highly technical subject that requires specialised knowledge, training, experience and exposure to the world economy. To overcome this challenge, the civil service needs to introduce a new cadre of "Finance and Economy" in its ranks. This will equip the service with eyes and ears capable of suggesting a strategic direction for the country's economy in conformity with the regional as well as global economics.
The intricacies of meaningful civil service reforms are too detailed for the scope of this essay. While proposing change of examination structure, formation of vertical bureaucracies of specialist cadres, devolution of PAS to local government, and creation of a new "Finance and Economy" cadre, it is important to devolve the Police to Local Government while also creating a "National Tax Agency" to replace the current Federal Board of Revenue (FBR).
With almost 14,000 babies being born every day, most of whom will not get any education nor will they be able to acquire any skills, our society is already in a tailspin. Our productivity in agriculture is unable to feed the population, labour is unable to compete regionally in skills, and whatever intellectual capital we have is continuing to drain to other countries. Suffice it to say that we need a major surgery of the governance structure of Pakistan, for which a holistic view of reforms is needed as a matter of utmost priority. Our establishment must realise the magnitude of the challenge and act with extreme urgency to put a stop to this bleeding.