The Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC) is getting more manpower as well as its capacity will be strengthened as the government has cleared over Tk 1 billion.
On Oct 23, the Executive Committee of National Economic Council (ECNEC) gave its green light to the ‘Strengthening Capacity of Bangladesh Public Service Commission Secretariat’ project.
It includes construction of seven regional offices for the BPSC and upgrading the exams administered by it to a digital database.
The nearly Tk 1.27 billion project will be implemented jointly by BPSC Secretariat and the Public Works Division.
BPSC, the constitutionally mandated custodian of recruitment to the civil service, was founded in 1989. Based in Dhaka’s Agargaon, it has seven regional offices in the cities of Chattogram, Rajshahi, Khulna, Barisal, Sylhet, Rangpur and Mymensingh.
The regional offices are now housed in rented properties with minimal staff.
BPSC officials familiar with the project approved on Oct 23 said that around 4 acres of land will be acquired and developed for the three-storey regional offices in the seven cities.
A separate proposal to increase the BPSC’s manpower is awaiting the government’s nods, according to planning ministry officials familiar with the matter.
As the BPSC administers tests for recruitment in cadre and non-cadre posts in the public service it’s imperative to upgrade the exam management system in an effective, transparent manner, according to officials.
Following an assessment report, an investment proposal has been forwarded to the government.
Apart from procuring office supplies, computer and software, it also proposes training 433 officials, including 125 in abroad as well as appointing 16 more officials.
“It’s very timely initiative to strengthen the BPSC’s capacity. Once the project is implemented it will make the exam management system more efficient and transparent,” former bureaucrat Aktari Momtaz, who recently retired as the secretary to the BPSC, told Bangla Tribune.