Session 7

Posting, Transfer, and

Promotion in BCS
PROFESSOR MOMTAZ JAHAN
Posting

 The term posting or placement refers to redeployment, redistribution, rearrangement, and

relocation of assignment of an official to perform certain jobs in a
ministry/division/department/agency. In other words it means the transfer of an official from
one place of posting to another place of posting or station.
 Key Placement/Posting Message………A right person should be placed in the right position.
 It is expected that an officer may be placed or posted to any post or position considering
his/her background, experience or commitment without any nepotism and favoritism.
 A carefully planned and implemented posting/deployment policy conduces to efficiency,
quality , and output of work.
 Current Placement and Posting Policy

There is no placement or posting policy in BCS in black and white. The following principles are
followed in general:
 A three years of stay is followed to transfer the officials from current posting place to another place
of posting.
 In case of Administration and police cadres, the officers concerned are not posted in their
respective home districts.
 Preference is given to the husband and wife to get posting in the same or nearest work station.
 A special allowance (30% of basic pay) is given to the officers who are posted in the Chittagong
Hill Tracts.
 A fit list (pre-qualification) is followed before posting in the rank of Divisional Commissioner, DC,
and UNO.
Transfer

 One of the basic conditions of service is that a civil servant is liable to transfer by
appropriate authority in and outside the country in accordance with rules and in public
interest.
 There are however no set rules for the purpose. The application of principles are governed
by executive decisions.
 Within a cadre the general rule followed is that a civil servant cannot be transferred to a
post which affects his existing pay.
 The basic principle is that the pay must be protected in the posts reserved for the cadre.
 The three year formula does not necessarily mean that an officer cannot be transferred
before three year period.
Common Concerns / Issues in Placement/
Posting/Transfer

 Persuasion or Tadbir
 Political Consideration
 Officer on Special Duty (OSD)
 Frequent Rotation
 Placement in Remote Areas
 Prize posting
 Personal Choice
Way Forward

 Deployment in civil service in terms of transfer and posting should not be viewed as a
routine activity of the government.
 It should rather be viewed as an important tool designed to achieve efficiency in the
disposal of public service.
 There is need to rotate officers based on their aptitude and skill that conduce to
development of professionalism in civil service.
 Performance, training knowledge, specialization, and personal interest of the officers may
be taken into consideration during placement/posting .
 To ensure best performance the government may prepare a comprehensive policy strategy
on placement/posting through a consultative process with all stakeholders.
Promotion

 Promotion is the process for an officer’s hierarchical progression along the hierarchical ladder.
 Three criteria are followed in BCS for promotion of the civil servants.
1. Seniority…..determined on the basis of date of entry at the time of initial recruitment and
relative positions in the recruitment examination. Gradation List is the basic document of
seniority.
2. Merit…….is judged simply on the basis of marks obtained in the ACR.
3. Adherence to Rule of Conduct……determined from the service records regarding discipline,
conduct, corruption etc. The breach of the government Servants (Conduct) Rules makes an
officer liable for disciplinary actions/ departmental proceedings. Clearance from such
proceedings and from corruption cases is necessary for consideration of promotion.
Authorities for deciding Promotion

 There are three authorities deciding for promotion cases of different levels and categories
of civil servants.
1. PSC
2. Departmental Promotion Committee(DPC)
3. Superior Selection Board (SSB)
CONTD

 For initial promotion within a cadre…. a qualifying examination named BCS Cadre
Officer’s Senior Scale Promotion Examination is mandatory for the civil servants of
all cadres.
 Eligibility criteria include 4 years of service and confirmation in the cadre post. Covering
three written subjects the PSC conducts this examination every year.
 The subjects for promotion examination cover three papers:
1. Bangladesh and Current Affairs
2. Acts, Rules, and Systems applicable in use of all officers of BCS
3. Matters Relating to Works of Respective cadres.
BCS Promotion Rules 2002

The GOB formulated a comprehensive promotion rule in 2002.

The Promotion Rules 2002 apply to secretariat positions only, from
the level of DS and above.
The rules have replaced all earlier notifications on the issue.
For the first time GOB introduced scoring system in the promotion
rule that takes into account academic performance and ACRs from
the beginning to date to ensure quality in the promotion process.
Procedure for evaluation of Promotion for the
posts of DS and above

Criterion Divided Total marks

 Educational Qualification  25
 Average of Last Five Years ACR  30
 Average of entire career ACR except last five  25
years
 Bonus for no adverse remarks on ACR of  10
entire career
 Number for no punishment in entire career
 10
Break-up of Scores for Educational
Qualifications

Exam 1st Division /Class 2nd Division/Class 3rd Division/Class

SSC 6 4 2
HSC 6 4 2
Graduation 9 6 3
Masters 4 3 2
Scoring Requirement for Promotion to
Higher Posts

Post Minimum Marks Required

DS 83
JS 85
Add. Sec 85
Sec ______
Bonus Marks and Deduction of Marks

 The Promotion Rules 2002 also provided for bonus mark of 5 in case of officers failing to
achieve minimum 20 marks in respect of educational attainment. However this is subject
to successful passing of an examination of 200 marks to be conducted by the PSC.

 Besides, there is also a provision for deduction of marks by way of penalty for adverse
remarks in the ACR. For minor penalty 2 marks and for major penalty 5 marks are to be
deducted.
Promotion Quota

 Promotion to the position of DS from different cadres……. ….. Superior Selection

Board (SSB) makes recommendation on the basis of a quota reservation system.
 75% posts are reserved for BCS (Administration) cadre and the rest 25% is allotted for
other cadres for the positions of DS.
 For the positions of JS and Add. Sec. 70% posts are reserved for BCS (Admin) cadre and
30% is allotted for other cadres.
Problems of Promotion System

 Political and personal factors have influenced the promotion process.

 Promotion has a become a part of the currency of political competition.
 Promotion is an area where clash of interest among administration cadre and other
professional cadres is extra ordinarily high.
 Mode of assessment through ACR has become an annual ritual of no practical significance.
 There are no annual promotional rounds.
 Rules and regulations are arbitrarily framed by the government when it deems that the time
has come to promote a few individuals.
CONTD

 A person may have brilliant results in his /her educational career but in practical life
he/she may not be a good performer. In such a case the scoring formula based on
educational attainment does not provide any value addition toward the achievement of
organizational goals.
 The present promotion rule does not take into account the accomplishment of the core
training programs attended. Training has no link with promotion.