BAHARAM KHAN

The government is moving to introduce lateral entry, or direct appointment, at the level of joint secretary to speed up the administration’s work.

A committee of three secretaries and an additional secretary has held several meetings on the matter and is now working to finalise its report.

The move, which came following the Public Administration Reform Commission’s recommendation, has sparked resentment among young civil service officers, though no one is willing to speak on the record.

Earlier, the commission, in its report on February 5, suggested introducing lateral entry at the level of deputy secretary and above. The report did not specify what percentage of posts would be filled through such appointments.

Lateral entry means bringing in professionals from outside the traditional civil service cadre -- often from the private sector, academia, armed forces, state-owned enterprises, or other specialised fields -- directly, instead of them rising through the regular recruitment and promotion process of the civil service.

The committee working on the matter is headed by ASM Saleh Ahmed, senior secretary of the land ministry, and includes the finance secretary, local government secretary, and an additional secretary from the public administration ministry.

Saleh Ahmed told The Daily Star, “We have held multiple meetings, and the report is now being drafted. It will be submitted soon.”

Currently, there are over 1,000 joint secretaries in the administration. For example, if the government approves lateral entry for 10 percent, more than 100 officers could be recruited.

Sources familiar with the committee’s work told The Daily Star that it studied lateral appointment practices in Pakistan, India, and Sri Lanka, but found that such appointments were generally not well received there.

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