Manipulated Achievements: Skirting Around Deserved Accomplishments
In Pakistan, a growing concern surrounds the process of public appointments, particularly in university leadership and technical positions. The system, as it currently stands, is plagued by a lack of merit-based selection, outdated hiring processes, insufficient transparency, and limited accountability, leading to inefficiency and corruption.
One of the most pressing issues is the lack of merit-based appointments. Many appointments in public service, including universities and technical roles, are influenced by political considerations and non-meritocratic practices. Traditional assessments such as the Central Superior Services (CSS) exam do not adequately evaluate the modern skills needed for contemporary governance and technical expertise.
Another issue is the reliance on outdated examination systems and paper-based governance, which increases the chances of inefficiency and corrupt practices. The absence of digital platforms enabling transparency leads to poor governance, with Pakistan ranking low on corruption indices partly due to weak accountability in public sector appointments.
Infrastructure and institutional weaknesses also play a significant role. For example, judicial infrastructure and regional disparities in governance institutions negatively affect the quality of public service and appointments. Furthermore, public sector reforms face challenges in defining clear mandates and performance indicators to evaluate appointed officials.
To address these issues, several reforms and actions have been suggested. The Prime Minister of Pakistan has emphasized recruiting technical experts strictly on merit for government departments and university leadership roles, aiming to fill numerous vacant key posts with professionals who meet competency criteria.
Institutional reforms and rightsizing are also crucial. This includes aligning workforce with mandates, establishing measurable performance criteria, and improving efficiency through better governance structures in public bodies.
Digitization and e-governance are key to reducing corruption and increasing transparency. Successful models from countries like Singapore and New Zealand could be emulated, including digitized hiring processes and performance-based rewards.
Enhanced accountability mechanisms are also necessary. This includes installing performance evaluation linked to advancement, and integrating stakeholders for inclusive and transparent appointments and planning.
Recruitment of technical experts for key strategic roles is also essential. For example, filling chief executive officer, chief financial officer, and managing director roles in crucial ministries and departments with qualified experts, based on merit and accountability frameworks.
Public sector governance reforms must also ensure sustainable reforms requiring transparent evaluations, stakeholder engagement, and alignment with economic and developmental goals.
In the judiciary, recent amendments and politically tinged appointments have reignited fears of executive interference. Interviews for public appointments should be structured, recorded, and accountable with clear rubrics and published evaluation summaries.
In summary, Pakistan’s public appointment system, especially for university leadership and technical positions, requires deep institutional reforms centering on meritocracy, modernization of hiring systems, digitization, accountability, and comprehensive rightsizing of public agencies to improve governance and service delivery.
- The world is watching as Pakistan addresses concerns about national public appointments, particularly in university and technical roles.
- According to the Prime Minister of Pakistan, an important action to improve appointments is recruiting technical experts based on merit for key public service roles.
- Political considerations and non-meritocratic practices often influence who gets appointed to leadership positions in Pakistani universities and technical roles.
- Ensuring efficiency and transparency within the education-and-self-development, politics, and general-news sectors in Pakistan may require emulating digitized hiring processes from countries like Singapore and New Zealand.
