Commission says change made to enable in-service employees to pursue undergraduate studies with pay will impact services delivered by the category, amongst others.
While Clause 8.11.3 of the Bhutan Civil Service Rules and Regulations (BCSR) 2023 says that a civil servant is entitled to study leave with pay for the approved duration of the course, those going for bachelor’s degree do not get paid as the Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) in 2014 notified discontinuation of pay for in-service Bachelor’s program.
Replying to a question if there is any consideration by the government to amend the BCSR 2023, chapter 8 study leave, to encourage career advancement for in-service employees seeking to pursue undergraduate studies by providing financial support (Basic Salary) during their academic pursuit, the RCSC has replied that the change in the provision will not only have a significant financial burden through payment of salaries during up-gradation of individual qualification, but also impact routine operational level public services delivered by this category.
Responding to it, the RCSC has said that training and professional developmental interventions, career progressions in the Civil Service are guided by the merit of the competencies, which are knowledge, attributes and skills relevant for the job roles of respective categories. This principle and policy is the defining factor guiding the ‘In-Service Human Resource Development’ for both short and long-term training policy in the Civil Service.
In keeping with this policy, the Commission in the year 2014 through a notification has discontinued in-service Bachelor’s program with pay. However, the Commission continues to support aspiring Supervisory and Support Category (SSC) candidates to upgrade their qualification to Bachelor’s Degrees with job protection and study leave. RCSC has added that even with a Bachelor’s degree there is no default career progression to Professional and Management Category (PMC) and entry into PMC is after clearing the Civil Service Exams. “For those who clear Bhutan Civil Service Examination (BCSE) to join as PMC after upgrading their qualification with Bachelor’s Degree, as a serving civil servant, the BCSR gives them the equivalent seniority protection and has a higher age ceiling of 45 to sit for the BCSE,” the Commission (RCSC) has stated.
The reply also mentions that the Commission then also considered the implications of funding Bachelor’s program in the Civil Service vis-a-vis the merit system of placement of Class XII students for RUB Colleges and Scholarships. “Class XII graduates are eligible for state funding of Bachelor’s Degree based on their merit-ranking performance. Such practices if permitted will lead to perverse incentives where unselected Class XII students will apply for employment in the civil service and pursue Bachelor’s Degree funded by state as study leave with pay and allowance. Such HR policy may not support the merit society we aspire to build,” the reply reads.
It is also underlined that the Commission carefully considers the relevancy of the training and development to a civil servants’ roles and career progression in order to ensure that the in-service Human Resource Development has a positive return on investment. “The Master’s Program/PhD programs are also highly vetted by the Agency and RCSC to ensure that it is relevant to the current and future roles and it leads to greater specialization in their field of expertise, as they move upwards to take on higher complex roles of Executives and Specialists.”
Further, the RCSC has said that its mandate is to develop a “small, compact and efficient Civil Service”, making it the Commission’s responsibility to ensure that the large size and inefficient civil service does not cost the exchequer. “Today, pay and emoluments of the public sector are more than 50% of the recurrent budget. Investing in qualifications that are not required for current and future roles in a particular job category is discouraged to ensure that we save the limited RGoB resources for other urgent priorities.”
Based on the above, the RCSC has said that the change in the provision will not only have a significant financial burden through payment of salaries during upgradation of individual qualification but also impact routine operational level public services delivered by this category. “Today there are 12,728 (42.30%) civil servants in SSC and the cost of substitute employees for those undergoing Bachelor’s degree would be a significant burden on our resources.”
Nonetheless, whenever there is a requirement due to a policy change for educational qualification for a particular service, the Agency and the Commission protect the employment by providing qualification upgradation opportunities. For example, Primary Teaching Certificate (PTC) teachers were given qualification upgradation to Bachelors in Education (B. Ed) under a mix-mode model.
Bhutan’s Civil Service is structured into four broad categories, Operational Category (OC), Supervisory and Support Category (SSC), Professional and Management Category (PMC), and Executive and Specialist Category (ESC). The three categories have distinct recruitment, training, job responsibilities and career progression and ESC is a career progression for the PMC.
The position directory defines the entry qualification requirement and competencies and attributes defined for each category along with the job descriptions (JD). In the case of OC, the minimum qualification is Class X certificate. For example, a driver recruited under this category will require a Class X certificate and a driving license. Similarly, for the SSC, the minimum qualification requirement is Class XII, Diploma or Certificate in their respective occupational group. As such, an Admin Assistant in this category has a career advancement within the nine levels of SSC without the requirement of a Bachelor’s Degree qualification and doing the same role.
At the PMC level, the minimum qualification is a Bachelor’s Degree with career progression to Executive and Executive Specialist, the job role of the PMC changes as they move up the ladder. Therefore, all candidates registering for the civil service exam for entry into the PMC are required to produce the Bachelor’s Degree certificate.
Meanwhile, in 2024, RCSC recorded the highest number of graduates with 5,382 registering for the BCSE in comparison to the last five years for a vacancy of 1,306 positions in the civil service. Thus, the supply of Bachelor’s Degree graduates in the market has far exceeded the demand in the civil service.
Maisori Rai from Thimphu
