Blog post by Dr. Rajesh Tandon www.pria.org

Governance of Recruitment of Government Functionaries

Governments function through their functionaries. All wings of the government---legislative, executive, judiciary, security----have a wide range of functionaries at all levels---national, provincial, local—of governments. In recent years, the functions and responsibilities of governments have expanded manifold; so has the requirements of a wide range of competencies and skills amongst government functionaries. In many countries, a substantial proportion of all employment in the formal sectors of economy comprises of ‘public servants’ or government functionaries.

As demands of governance---efficiency, legitimacy and accountability aspects of governance in particular---have increased in recent years, recruitment of such functionaries has become a huge challenge. Typically, governments set up Public Service Commissions to undertake such tasks on an ongoing basis. The theory behind this approach, evolved in older democracies from some OECD countries, is that proper governance requires a professional cadre of functionaries who continue to perform a variety of public functions, irrespective of the nature of political regime elected to govern. The Public Service Commissions are expected to recruit functionaries to serve such functions.

In recent months, several cases of widespread corruption and scams in recruitment of junior level functionaries have hit the headlines in India. One of the former Chief Ministers of Haryana is in prison for corruption in recruitment of teachers. The current Chief Minister in MP (along with a host of other political leaders) is under investigation for corruption in recruitment of various types of functionaries. Despite measures enforced by the World Bank (which part funded the programme), recruitment of teachers in Bihar has been affected by ‘corrupt’ practices. The various High Courts, (from UP, West Bengal, Karnataka, etc.) are hearing cases of malpractices in recruitment of policemen, para-health functionaries, and others. Not only that the recruitment of a large number of government functionaries is affected in terms of quality, there is considerable delay in recruitment itself, and the back-log continues unabated. The most ironic part of this mal-governance is that the country has an abundance of manpower, and government employment is coveted.

The First and Second Administrative Reforms Commissions have prepared separate Reports on this aspect of recruitment of government functionaries. Various measures for strengthening of Central and State Public Service Commissions have been recommended. The crux of the challenge is to ensure that the recruitment function is independent, professional and transparent. Systems and mechanisms to create a ‘fire-wall’ to prevent political meddling in

Blog post by Dr. Rajesh Tandon www.pria.org

such recruitment process have largely been ineffective so far. Given the politics of patronage, recruitment of local level functionaries has been seen to be the ‘right of victors’ after elections.

The new government in Delhi needs to pay attention to this aspect of governance urgently. How can competent and motivated persons be recruited to various levels of government? What mechanisms and systems can be put in place to minimise political interference? What recruitment policies can be designed which do not necessarily make all government recruitments for life ( as opposed to for limited terms)? In what ways can the Central and State Public Service Commissions be strengthened to be up-to-date with modern practices in recruitment? How can recruitment of functionaries be devolved to local levels while maintaining national standards?

Effective governance requires competent, motivated and hard-working functionaries; the governance of their recruitment in India is under siege today!

Rajesh Tandon

Founder-President, PRIA, New Delhi July 28, 2014