As almost 27 percent posts in government job are lying vacant, the government is now working on to form a separate commission regarding appointment in these posts on emergency basis. The number of vacant posts are increasing every year. In 2016, the percentage of vacant posts was 16 percent while it is almost 27 percent at present. Number of total posts in the country’s government job is around 13,50,000. Currently around 3,60,000 posts are vacant, among which a big portion has been lying vacant for years.
Sources said the senior secretary (Coordination and Reformation) of the Cabinet Division has been assigned to prepare a concept paper regarding formation of a separate commission for appointment in theses vacant posts on emergency basis through scrutinizing the existing laws and rules. The Cabinet Division is yet to receive the concept paper as the senior secretary is still working on it.
An official of the Ministry of Public Administration said the meeting of secretaries held on 15 May last discussed about appointing manpower in the vacant posts of 11th grade to 20th grade on emergency basis. Secretaries of different ministries and divisions informed the meeting about manpower shortage in their respective sectors.
In that meeting the secretaries discussed whether a separate commission can be formed to appoint in those vacant posts on emergency basis. After scrutinizing the existing laws and rules, a summary of the concept paper will be sent to the Prime Minister, he added. There is shortage of manpower in every sector such as education, agriculture, food, transport, land etc. Smooth functioning is being impeded at all the government sectors due to manpower shortage. So, the secretarial meeting urges for immediate measures to appoint in the vacant posts, sources said.
According to the Ministry of Public Administration, over 3 lakh 59 thousand government posts are vacant in different ministries and divisions. Of the vacancies, 48,246 are grade-1 posts; 54,294 are grade-2 posts; 1,83,737 are grade-3 posts, and 73,984 are grade-4 posts. An official of the Public Administration Ministry said the initiative for forming a separate commission for appointment in the vacant posts is nothing new. In 2009, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina at a meeting of secretaries instructed to appoint in the vacant post in the shortest period of time. She also told the secretaries for taking measures, if necessary, to form separate commissions in this regard.
He further said that the Constitution is the highest rule. It is said in the Constitution that in case of necessity commissions can be formed. It is unthinkable that more than three and a half lakh posts are vacant in a country where unemployment is a big problem. Besides, it was one of the electoral pledges of the current government that they would create employment opportunity for one crore people of the country, he added.
There is never 100 percent recruitment in government jobs. Besides, the quota-based posts were mostly lying vacant failing to get suitable candidates from different quotas. There are always employees going on retirement while new recruitments are done. But not all the posts are ever filled. But the number of vacant posts was never so high in the past. The Bangladesh Public Service Commission recruits grade-I and grade-II employees while ministries directly employ grade-II and grade-IV employees.
