Daily Times

Civil Services reform and the continued renewal of the system of government is of vital significance to ensure effective delivery to the satisfaction of the people. Any deliberation to improve the quality of civil services has to be essentially viewed in the context of linkages, like the system of education, its quality; the dominant ideology of the country evident in the nation’s literature, literary talent, music, arts, movies, theater, television programmes and sporting events; culture and society – Norms and sanctions, values; and major theoretical perspectives on culture, indicating cultural variation.

According to functionalists, subcultures serve the interests of subgroups; while ethnocentrism reinforces group solidarity. According to conflict perspective, countercultures questions the dominant social order, whereas ethnocentrism devalues the group. And according to interactionist perspective, customs and traditions are transmitted through intergroup contact and through the media. The concept of ‘Cultural Relativism’ remains important. While ethnocentrism evaluates foreign cultures using the familiar culture of the observer as a standard of correct behaviour; cultural relativism views people’s behaviour from the perspective of their own culture. Thus, it prioritises an understanding of other cultures. It suggests that different social contexts give rise to different norms and values. This approach leads to studies which are based on objectivity and are free of bias and prejudice.

The culture of cheating, distasteful behaviour and negative attitude indicates that educational institutions do not strive to emphasise on character-building, as part of their curricular and methodology of imparting instructions to the students. Cases of fake degrees and incidents of now frequent frauds and bad behaviours point to criminals destroying this nation and polluting the education system. It is shameful that the business of selling fake degrees has been going on for more than ten years, and still has sympathisers in this land of the pure. But why blame the country. We should get a hold of those who are supposed to take prompt action and bring the culprits to justice. It points to the failure of the administration, its weaknesses and corruption. Civil servants should have the courage and ability to act against criminals. Moral and ethical degeneration has gone to such an extreme that criminals don’t feel ashamed, and instead, are able to find space for themselves in the highest institutions of the state.

It is important for us in Pakistan to also understand the legacy of the past in Public administration, and of the social origins, attitudes, and opportunities of civil servants today. Higher Civil Service is the machine that runs the government, believe it or not. How it runs depends on the political leadership and the state structure

Chief Secretary Punjab, recently ordered an investigation to uncover if officers in the civil secretariat have the required degree and if they are the genuine holders of posts or positions in which they are serving. This should be done in other provinces and all the departments of federal and provincial governments as well, to ascertain that civil servants who are currently working in the government are honest, credible, able and capable of performing and delivering on their duties.

Morroe Berger’s, ‘Bureaucracy and Society in Modern Egypt – A study of the Higher Civil Service’, is a good guide to come up with a methodology which has an objective and analytical understanding of the personal characteristics of higher level bureaucracy and their impact on a nation’s economic and political life. The Civil Service mirror’s society, reflecting the educational and economic opportunities it affords, the fluidity of its class structure, the degree of its national unity, and the nature of loyalties that bind the people.

It is important for us in Pakistan to also understand the legacy of the past in Public administration, and of the social origins, attitudes, and opportunities of civil servants today.  Higher Civil Service is the machine that runs the government, believe it or not. How it runs depends on the political leadership and the state structure. Moreover, the bureaucracy is allowed to stay neutral, it serves the people and provides space for justice to be delivered.

Current administrative structures are confronted with basic and irreversible changes: Weberian administration with its rigid hierarchical and often too complex lines of communication, which stress continuity, is no longer applicable. New problems require more organizational structures in which creativity flexibility and efficiency are underlined and the ‘client’ necessarily constitutes as one of the final orientations.

The quality of public administration, moreover, remains to a great extent dependent on those who produce services. As a result, each process leading to change and aiming to influence the functioning of the administrative machinery with its own environment, rules, recruitment career and training system; there are crucial elements for achieving the envisaged changes and for maintaining the organizational culture and dynamism capable of sustaining permanent adaptations.

Many countries are acquainted with similar problems and are attempting to find appropriate solutions which, nonetheless, cannot be applied as such in other administrative systems but which may bring to light new points of view and draw attention to complementary effects which are not apparent at first sight.

We need to contribute to a broader knowledge of administrative system in the country. A clear and precise understanding of the functioning of the administrative machinery and current developments in other countries is of great help to develop a comparative perspective which is useful for bringing improvements, where adoption and adaptation is possible. It is time for action – rhetoric and blame game has to come to a halt for the sake of national interest.

Education is the baseline for all developments and improvements required. The focus therefore has to be on improving the system of education and administration of education. Literacy level and infrastructure needs to be a top priority. Quality of civil services, will improve with better systems of education. I am in support of the view, “We must not be lured to believe that the country can be built on private education”. Pakistan can only be built on government education, with some private institutions that are exceptionally good.

The writer is a Former Director, National Institute of Public Administration (NIPA), Government of Pakistan, a political analyst, a public policy expert and an author, his book post 9/11 Pakistan was published in the United States

Published in Daily Times, October 2^nd, 2018.