Dhaka: The Public Service Commission (PSC) in its annual report for 2015 observed that the quota system for BCS and other recruitment tests should be in effect from the very beginning of the examination process, for it to have the desired impact on the recruiting process for public sector jobs.

At present, a candidate gains any advantage of the quota or reservation system accruing to him or her, only after succeeding in preliminary, written and viva-voce exams.

‘It means the candidates eligible to get the facility of the quota system need to compete on merit with others, which is contradictory to the spirit and objective of the introduction of the quota system,’ the report observed.

In this case, the report suggested looking at the recruitment process followed by the Union of Public Service Commission (UPSC) of India, in implementing the complex labyrinth of quotas and reservations in the Indian system. The UPSC follows the quota system from the preliminary examination.

A delegation headed by PSC chairman Ekram Ahmed handed over the report to President Abdul Hamid at Bangabhaban in Dhaka recently.

The annual report observed that no post will remain vacant under the quota system, if candidates are selected from the 4 communities that most commonly enjoy reservations (freedom fighters, women, indigenous communities and disabled quota) from preliminary and written tests in proportion with the number of vacancies.

PSC member Muhammed Sadique told UNB, ‘We are still discussing the issue. If the quota system is implemented from the very beginning, no post will remain vacant.’

The PSC also renewed its recommendation to ease the quota system in government jobs, as it is not possible to overcome the problems related to applying the system. The PSC placed the proposal in March 2009. But it has made no headway in seven years.

‘The commission thinks that it is very complex, difficult as well as time-consuming to apply the present quota-related regulations. It is almost impossible to select suitable candidates hundred percent flawlessly due to the complexity of the existing quota system,’ according to the report.

Currently, less than half (45 percent) of government jobs are open for merit-based selection, while the remaining 55 percent are reserved for various quotas.

Of the quotas, 30 percent is for freedom fighters’ children and grandchildren, 10 percent for women, 10 percent for district quotas and 5 percent for indigenous communities.

The report said that it is humanly impossible to flawlessly solve the multidimensional equations regarding the cadre choices of candidates, as well as the numerical quota limits imposed to districts/divisions within the given time.

‘In this context the commission thinks it is indispensable to ease the existing quota application system to select suitable candidates through BCS examination. It is a must to ease the quota application system with a view to recruit through BCS examinations and first and second class non-cadre posts,’ the report added.

‘Freedom fighter, women and indigenous community quotas can be allocated at the national level, so that quotas can’t be divided on the basis of district/division or on the basis of the ratio of population of those districts/divisions. This type of quota can be distributed among the candidates on merit basis,’ the proposal said.

PSC chairman Ekram Ahmed told UNB ‘It is the matter for the government to take a decision in this regard. We repeatedly request the government to ease the quota system.’