Promotion process for 1,680 civil servants underway

The government has initiated the promotion process for three senior administrative ranks – deputy secretary, joint secretary, and additional secretary – with details of 1,680 officials already under review for the promotions.

This comes amid ongoing disagreements between the administration cadre and officials from 25 other cadres over the promotion policies for the post of deputy secretary. 

The Superior Selection Board (SSB) began its meetings on Monday to assess candidates and finalise the promotions, with plans to announce the promotions by late January or early February, according to a senior public administration ministry official.  

The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The Business Standard that the SSB began meetings on Monday to discuss promotions for deputy secretaries, joint secretaries, and additional secretaries. It held its second meeting yesterday evening, he added.

According to the official, information on 1,680 officers is being reviewed for the three tiers of promotions. 

"However, the government is also carefully considering the reactions from cadre officials regarding the deputy secretary promotions," the official said, adding, "The final decision will be made based on the overall situation."

Eligibility and evaluation

Currently, 1,598 deputy secretaries, 862 joint secretaries, and 452 additional secretaries are serving, however, there are just 1,750, 502, and 212 sanctioned permanent posts, respectively. 

To address excess candidates, the government creates supernumerary posts, a practice most commonly applied to police cadre promotions but rarely to others.  

A total of 819 senior assistant secretaries, 573 deputy secretaries, and 288 joint secretaries have been deemed eligible for promotion to higher positions. Detailed intelligence reports on these officials have already been collected. 

Additionally, their service records and other relevant data are being reviewed as part of the assessment process.

For the upcoming promotions, the 30th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) batch is being considered for deputy secretary posts, with 277 administration cadre officers and 223 officers from other cadres vying for promotion. 

Additionally, 319 previously overlooked officers are also eligible for the post. 

The 24th batch of BCS is being considered as the regular batch for promotion from deputy secretary to joint secretary this year. Among 336 officials from the administration cadre of this batch, 329 have qualified for promotion. 

Additionally, 244 officials from other cadres, including those previously overlooked for promotion, have also been deemed eligible.

On the other hand, for promotions from joint secretary to additional secretary, the 20th BCS batch is under consideration, with 288 officers eligible.

Meanwhile, the chief adviser's Press Secretary Shafiqul Alam yesterday said the committee's recommendations regarding the officials deprived of promotion were discussed in the Council meeting.

"It has been decided to recommend several promotions, including 119 to secretary and 41 to Grade 1 officials. For this, the government might have to incur a one-time expenditure of Tk42 crore and Tk4 crore per year for pension," he said.

The government has decided to grant retrospective promotions to 764 retired officials who were deprived during their tenure, he added.

Ongoing dispute

Currently, there are a total of 26 cadres in the civil service. For the post of deputy secretary, 75% of the positions are filled from the administration cadre, while the remaining 25% are allocated from other cadres.

However, a reform commission, led by former caretaker government adviser Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, proposed an equal 50-50 split.  

At an event on 17 December, the commission's chief had announced that the commission would recommend a 50% promotion quota for the administration cadre and 50% for other cadres in the case of deputy secretary promotions. 

Since then, officials from both the administration cadre and the 25 other cadres have been opposing this decision.

Yesterday, officials from 25 cadres observed a one-hour pen-down strike nationwide. They have also planned further programmes, including human chains and central rallies in the coming days. 

The officials demanded merit-based promotions for the post of deputy secretary, not quota based, calling for the removal of the quota based promotion process.

Meanwhile, the Bangladesh Administrative Association, a platform for administration cadre officials, met with Ministry of Public Administration Senior Secretary Mokhlesur Rahman on Sunday. 

During the meeting, they presented a 15-point demand, which included a call for 100% of deputy secretary promotions to be reserved exclusively for the administration cadre. 

They also demanded the establishment of a separate entity called the "Bangladesh Administrative Service" for their cadre.

However, there are no disputes regarding the promotion process of the other to administrative posts.