EC wants NID submission made mandatory for govt job hiring

The Election Commission (EC) has requested various ministries and government agencies to make submission of the National Identity Card (NID) mandatory for government job recruitment, urging that it be included in the legal framework governing public administration.

At a press conference held today (3 June) at the EC office in the capital, ASM Humayun Kabir, director general of the EC's National Identity Registration Wing, said this move is aimed at ensuring smooth salary payments for government employees.

"NID submission is already mandatory under the NID Registration Act, and it's linked with the iBAS salary system. So, all agencies should follow this rule during hiring," he added.

On Monday, the EC secretary held a meeting with representatives from 27 ministries and departments. They discussed how to verify NID information during recruitment and how to handle employees without valid NIDs.

Humayun Kabir mentioned that many government employees come to the EC to correct their NID information. "Earlier, they were paid through vouchers, but now salaries go through iBAS, which relies on NID data. Their income, allowances, and family support depend on it." 

iBAS++ is the government's software for managing salaries and allowances.

"Some offices say they'll stop salary payments if NID information is incorrect. Employees then get stuck between iBAS and their offices, and often come to us. But we can't always fix the issues instantly," Kabir added.

He said the EC found that some agencies ignored the NID requirement because it hasn't been legally enforced yet. "If it's added to the legal framework, they won't be able to ignore it anymore," he said.

Officials at the meeting also said they would look into helping employees whose salaries have been delayed due to NID-related issues.

Formalising NID requirement

When asked whether the NID requirement would be included in the legal framework of public administration, Humayun Kabir said, "It is already part of a legal structure. In public administration, more importance is usually given to the SSC certificate. But we will take steps to include the NID requirement in the legal framework that everyone in public administration follows."

He added, "We have asked them to do this. For example, the ministries in charge of schools, colleges, and universities will need to tell those institutions to check NID during hiring. They said they will take steps to do that."