A high-level review panel has recommended the removal of quotas for government employees from grade 9 to grade 13. Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Shafiul Alam, chief of the panel, informed the media of the panel’s recommendation following a cabinet meeting on Monday.
“I have submitted the report on the quotas to the prime minister,” he said. “Our findings are that there should no longer be any quota for appointments to grades 13 to 9.”
This means, if the recommendation is approved, the 56 percent quota for government jobs will be removed and the positions will be filled on merit. The proposal will be presented to the cabinet after it has the prime minister’s approval, Alam said. Once it receives cabinet approval, it can be issued as a gazette as early as next month, he added.
The quota system allows the government to preserve 56 percent posts in jobs for different quotas. These quotas include 30 percent for families of freedom fighters, 10 percent for women, 10 percent for particular districts, 5 percent for small ethnic groups, and 1 percent for people with disabilities.
The appointment system for the positions from grade 13 to grade 20 will remain the same, the cabinet secretary said.
"The quota will be fixed accordingly if the government takes a different decision,” he said when asked if the recommendation will have any influence on the 40th BCS already advertised by the Public Service Commission.
The government is scrutinising the issue of keeping “quota for the disabled" which is 'not mandatory at the moment,' said Alam.
“We have examined the court directive on the quota for the children of freedom fighters; the legal experts said the government can take a decision on the issue."
The government is yet to take the decision to increase the age of applying for a government job from 30 years, the cabinet secretary said.
Students and jobseekers have been protesting against the system, demanding that the total posts preserved for different quotas be brought down to 10 percent.
When the quota reform protests peaked, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina told parliament on Apr 11 that she would rather see the system go. Later, she said that 30 percent of quota will remain as per the directive of the High Court.
The government formed a committee headed by Alam on June 2, around two and a half months after Hasina’s ‘announcement’ to abolish job quotas in the face of protests.
Attorney General Mahbubey Alam conveyed his opinion to the government when the public administration ministry sought it.
“Our recommendation is small but the findings are large in number; we have consulted the legal experts who said it is a policy decision by the government and there is no issue about it," the cabinet secretary told reporters as they have submitted the recommendation after finishing all tasks. (bdnews24.com)
