Reforms: As part of Bhutan Civil Service System (BCSS), Royal Civil Service Commission (RCSC) introduced super structure to enhance professionalism in the civil service, which had come into effect since August 2.
With an objective to place the right person in the right job, retain and enhance professionalism in the civil service, super structure will also serve as a guide for movement of civil servants within their professional areas as well as to ensure specialisation in their profession.
RCSC’s chairman, Dasho Karma Tshiteem, said prior to the concept of super structure, in the professional and management category, civil servants were allowed to change major occupational groups (MOGs) after 10 years, leading to abrupt changes in the career and undermining the human resource investment as well as the civil service entry system, some of which are less competitive.
“This makes it efficient to ensure the building-up of the appropriate expertise and professionalism necessary to deliver the government’s plans and programmes. Therefore, to address the issue, the super structure was initiated in the civil service,” Dasho Karma Tshiteem said.
Following the reforms, the existing 19 MOGs and 94 sub groups are clubbed under a super structure made up of five super structure groups.
These five groups are executive and specialist service, administration service, finance service, education service and technical service. Except for executive and specialist service, the four groups are categorised based on entry into the civil service through the Bhutan Civil Service Examination (BCSE).
Every civil servant shall be categorised under a super structure group and the super structure framework will serve as a guide for movement of civil servants within their professional areas as well as ensure specialisation in the profession, Dasho Karma Tshiteem said.
“With super structure, clarity is drawn between the civil servants in the technical and general fields. Depending on the entry, civil servants are made to stay true to their profession and movement is allowed only to the relevant positions, thus enhancing professionalism in the civil service,” Dasho Karma Tshiteem said.
Super structure is not a borrowed concept, but rather is an outcome of the MOG rationalisation exercise that was carried out by a task force as per the directive of the commission based on the issues faced with the current system, Dasho Karma Tshiteem said, adding that the proposal was presented and discussed with more than 2,000 civil servants and that majority of the civil servants were supportive of the reform.
A special feature of the reform also includes the position of an Officer on Special Assignment (OSA).
“The OSA is a time-bound assignment within the civil service and will allow individual civil servant to move within the super structure group while maintaining the original profession. This is the flexibility rendered to all civil servants to experience diversity in their long civil service career while remaining in their super structure. OSA is only applicable for civil servants up to P2 level and specialist level,” said Dasho Karma Tshiteem.
The super structure is a framework that will be used by the human resource officers for transfer and open competition.
The movement of civil servants shall be based on the four criteria: allow movement of civil servants among MOG, sub group and positions within the super structure group; officer on special assignment; allow movement in the same super structure group for position with multiple entry; and number of specialist position depending on the super structure group.
RCSC is the approving authority for proposal involving change in MOGs within the super structure group. However, the commission will also have the authority to approve a proposal within the same MOG of the super structure group, Dasho Karma Tshiteem said.
“For implementation of the super structure, the principle of vested right that existed from 2006 shall prevail and, accordingly, civil servants will be categorised in the super structure group as per schedule II (super structure manual), which provides details of MOGs, sub groups and positions identified for each group,” Dasho Karma Tshiteem said.
The super structure group is being incorporated in Civil Service Information System (CSIS) that will be ready by next month. Once incorporated, it will appear on individual’s curriculum vitae of the civil servants. It will not affect the current positions and MOGs of the civil servants.
Thinley Zangmo