FILLING OF POSTS OF PRINCIPAL AND CLERK IN THE PUBLIC SERVICE

With reference to the front page article in The Times of today’s date concerning the public examinations for the filling of the posts of Principal and Clerk in the Public Service it is relevant to point out the following facts and figures.

Following the Public Examination for clerks held in May 1997, four hundred and ninety-six (496) candidates were successful.  The result was published on the 17th October 1997 and was valid for one year.  In April 1997 it was approved that the validity period be extended by one year to 17th October 1999.

Since the first intake of new clerks in March 1998 and up to the 11th August, one hundred and thirty-four (134) successful candidates have been called to take up the post of Clerk.  Of these candidates forty-six (46) refused appointment, twelve (12) asked for a postponement and the remaining seventy-six (76) were appointed.  The very fact that a high percentage of 43%, out of the 134 successful candidates sent for so far, have either refused appointment or asked for a postponement shows the high turnover in the clerical grades in government service and the need for replacements.

It is the normal procedure, when vacancies arise in the grade of Clerk, that successful candidates, strictly in order of merit, are informed that they are recommended for employment as Clerks and asked to call at the Management and Personnel Office for further details.  This procedure has been followed in the past and has also been adopted in the present intake of clerks.  This ensures that letters of appointments are not issued unnecessarily to candidates who are no longer interested in the post.  Other than this simple form of notification, which is a standard procedure, no other approaches have been made to successful candidates.

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A public examination for the post of Principal was held in May 1997.  The result was published on the 12th September 1997 and is valid for two years.  Eighty-six (86) candidates have been successful and out of these fifty-eight (58) have been called to take up the appointment between April 1998 and 11th August 1998.  Thirteen (13) candidates declined the appointment and 3 asked for a postponement.  Again in this case, the high percentage of 28% of those who did not take up the appointment shows the substantial turnover in this grade.

The filling of vacancies in the posts of Principals and Clerks continues to be made according to the real needs of the Ministries and Departments concerned, the availability of funds and strictly in the order of merit achieved in the examination and claims of irregularities are completely unfounded.

Moreover all requests for employment of Clerks and Principals are scrutinised by the Cabinet Committee on Recruitment, which is chaired by the Prime Minister himself and which comprises other Cabinet Ministers and representatives of the Office of the Prime Minister, the Ministry of Finance and Commerce, the Ministry of Social Welfare, the Management and Personnel Office and the Management Efficiency Unit.  This Cabinet Committee was specifically set up to control and oversee recruitment and the filling of vacancies.