The government has finalized a major civil service reform plan covering CSS examinations, recruitment, training, performance evaluations, promotions and pay.
Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal led a multiparty consultation on Thursday.
The meeting reached consensus on 43 of 46 recommendations prepared by two committees formed by the prime minister.
CSS Exam Changes Proposed
Under the proposed recruitment system, specialized hiring would be conducted through cluster-based examinations or separate tests for individual occupational groups.
The CSS examination would continue under the new framework.
Candidates would be allowed to choose English or Urdu as the medium for compulsory papers.
The government also plans to fully digitize the CSS examination process.
Officials aim to reduce the recruitment cycle to six months.
The proposed reforms would increase the CSS passing threshold from 33 percent to 40 percent.
Negative marking would not be introduced under the proposal.
The examination could also include GRE- and SAT-style questions to test analytical and logical reasoning abilities.
Additional attempts could be offered to fill vacant quota seats for Balochistan, Sindh, minorities and women.
New National Executive Service Proposed
The reforms also propose creating a National Executive Service for specialized recruitment to federal positions in Grade 20 and above.
Police and Foreign Service positions would remain outside the proposed system.
Selected positions would be filled through open and contract-based appointments for five years.
Appointments would be linked to predetermined key performance indicators.
Candidates from the private sector, academia and government would be eligible to compete.
The Federal Public Service Commission would conduct a screening test.
Successful candidates would then undergo competency-based assessments and interviews.
Officers appointed through the National Executive Service could also receive a Special Professional Pay Scale.
Performance-Based Promotions
The remaining senior positions would be filled through promotions based on performance in training and government service.
The proposals also include a mechanism for officers who are repeatedly superseded.
Officers superseded twice could be retired after completing 25 years of service, with their entitled benefits.
Changes to Training and Career Development
The government also plans major changes to training programmes for senior civil servants.
Candidates for the Mid Career Management Course, Senior Management Course and National Management Course would be selected through competitive examinations.
Officials could receive up to three attempts to qualify.
Those who fail after three attempts could be offered early retirement.
Training programmes would also be redesigned.
Up to 50 percent of training time could be dedicated to domain-specific knowledge.
Officers from Grade 17 to Grade 20 could also be required to complete two specialized short courses.
These courses would be developed by relevant specialized training institutes.
New Public Administration University
The reforms propose establishing a National University of Public Administration.
The plan also includes merging the National Institutes of Management with other government training institutions.
Performance Evaluation Reports would be redesigned to focus on outcomes, competencies and integrity.
A formal grading system for performance evaluations has also been proposed.
Scholarships for Senior Officers
The government plans to offer scholarships to the top 25 university admissions for executive leadership training abroad.
The initiative is intended to strengthen leadership skills among senior government officials.
Ahsan Iqbal said the committees studied civil service systems in Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and the United Kingdom.
He said the review focused particularly on countries with Commonwealth traditions and parliamentary systems.
According to Iqbal, the comparison showed that modern public administrations are becoming more specialized, open and performance-focused.
The proposed reforms are expected to reshape how federal civil servants are recruited, trained, evaluated and promoted.
