Meritocracy rather than paper qualifications will improve the quality of the civil service, says a former senior civil servant.
Speaking to FMT, former transport ministry secretary-general Ramon Navaratnam weighed in on a proposal by a PKR MP for the SPM to be made the minimum qualification for white-collar civil service jobs.
He said there was no need for such a requirement as the government had already set different qualification criteria for different positions.
“Plus paper qualifications don’t guarantee quality. You can have a diploma or a degree, but if you can’t do the job then what’s the point?
“The key is to give the job to the best person and develop them from there.
“Every job has a confirmation period, so the government should only confirm those who can prove they can do the job.”
Another top former civil servant, Mohd Sheriff Mohd Kassim, echoed similar sentiments. He said that the government shouldn’t confirm staff who don’t show any potential for development.
“In fact, they should be terminated. Those who remain in the service should be given training to upgrade their skills,” said the former finance ministry secretary-general.
“The salary scheme should also provide the incentives to reward those who do well by giving them accelerated increments for showing improvements in their work,” he told FMT.
And although Sheriff agreed that SPM should be the minimum entry qualification for white-collar jobs, he said job applicants should also be evaluated in other aspects, including their personal qualities.
It was reported that PKR’s Kuantan MP Fuziah Salleh wanted the government to set the SPM as the minimum qualification for white-collar civil service jobs.
She had noted that more than 500,000 of the 1.6 million civil servants in the country have SPM or lower qualifications.
“I mean no offence to the civil servants. But, generally, I would expect the majority of the posts (in the civil service) to be filled by degree holders.
“Employing degree holders or at least diploma holders can improve the level of service, ” she said.
Original article from http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2017/03/12/meritocracy-not-qualifications-more-important-in-civil-service/