KATHMANDU, AUG. 24-- Nearly 10,000 government employees are spending more time preparing for the Public Service Commission exams than focusing on their official duties. Among them, about half take leave in ways that directly affect work in the office.
Former Secretary of the Ministry of Federal Affairs and General Administration, Suresh Adhikari, said around 10,000 civil servants are occupied with exam preparations once the Commission announces vacancies for various positions. According to him, about 1,000 are preparing for the Joint Secretary post, 2,500 for the Under Secretary post, and nearly 7,000 for Section Officer positions.
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Of these, roughly half manage their studies without disturbing office duties, while the rest either go on leave, arrive late, leave early, or stay at the office but devote their time to studying instead of working.
Minister for Federal Affairs and General Administration, Bhagawati Neupane, stated that civil servants tend to prioritize Public Service exams over service delivery. Speaking at the Legislative Committee of the National Assembly, she expressed that the provision in the Federal Civil Service Bill to recruit all positions through open competition should be reconsidered. According to her, if all levels are filled through open competition, more employees will focus on exams instead of regular duties.
The bill currently does not set open competition quotas for the Nayab Subba (Non-Gazetted First Class Officer) and Joint Secretary posts. However, some lawmakers have been pressing to include open competition for the Joint Secretary level as well. The tendency of employees to focus on exams rather than office work has created problems for service seekers and disrupted government service delivery.
By law, the Commission must invite applications for promotions and open competition from the last Wednesday of September until the last Wednesday of March each year. For example, Joint Secretary and Under Secretary (non-technical) posts are announced in late September, Under Secretary (technical) in late October, Section Officer (non-technical) in late November, and Nayab Subba in late December. This process continues until late March. A ministry employee noted that once advertisements are issued, many staff take leave all at once, which has become a common practice.
“When employees either go on leave or stay in the office but spend their time studying, service delivery is affected. To prevent this, employees should be allowed to take leave in rotation or other arrangements should be made. This is the responsibility of office heads and secretaries,” said a ministry official.
Once vacancies are announced, some employees act as teachers for exam preparation classes while others play the role of students. Some transfer themselves to departments with less workload, such as the Postal Department, District Coordination Committees, constitutional commissions, or the Department of Water Transport, so they can study without pressure.
The National Vigilance Centre has conducted surprise inspections from time to time. During these checks, it has found cases where employees marked attendance but left early, stayed in the office but studied for exams instead of working, or remained absent without officially applying for leave.
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