PM takes notice of officers evading training courses

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has taken notice of the trend by the bureaucrats of withdrawing name and not participating in the course after being nominated for the mandatory course for promotion.

The prime minister has directed all ministries/ divisions and provincial governments to strictly follow the training rules. He has directed that in future nominations should be withdrawn only in case of unavoidable nature as training courses are compulsory.

The reasons of withdrawal of name by an officer should be given to the prime minister for the approval.

The Establishment Division has sent a letter to the secretaries of all ministries and divisions and to the chief secretaries of all the four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir in which the premier has expressed his displeasure.

The Establishment Division has drawn the attention of the ministries and provincial governments to the fact that nominations of officers are repeatedly withdrawn for Mid-Career Management Course, Senior Management Course and National Management Course, which are mandatory for the promotion of federal and state officers

.Under Rule 22 of the Civil Servants Promotion Rules 2019, the nomination of any officer can be deferred only once on the request of the ministry/ division concerned. After that, if the nomination is to be exempted, then it has to be approved by the prime minister. The Establishment Division said in the letter that it has been observed that ministries are seeking exemption from nomination more than once and this has become the norm, and it negates the purpose of Rule 22.

Secondly, it creates difficulties in maintaining discipline in the training process.

The Division has directed that the instructions of the prime minister should be strictly followed. Exceptions should be taken only in cases of unavoidable nature, and for this also recommendations should be communicated 15 days before the commencement of the course.