The Nagaland State Government machinery is the backbone of our tiny State and an institution in itself no matter how flawed it may be. For one, it is the largest employer and almost every single family is dependent on the government. For many it is a matter of survival and without the government, there is bound to be economic crisis. In a way therefore, the government machinery contributes to the quality of life enjoyed by us. In terms of reach, it has offices all across the length and breadth of the State and is responsible for delivering a multitude of programs and services to the common man. Against this backdrop, it is but obvious that the government machinery is an important source of both our livelihood and the sole service provider. It is therefore of primary importance to ensure that we have a strong and able government. Here, there is no doubt that the quality of a government is dependent on those who make up the government i.e. the work force. Sadly, as far as our State is concerned, it is doubtful whether we are recruiting the best people who can deliver results on the ground. It is not that our current government employees are incapable. In fact, we have some of the best officers, whether they are from the All India Service of the Nagaland Civil Service. Similarly among the lower cadres, there are many hardworking employees though they may not be the most skilled or efficient. It is also a fact that while many have come into government service through proper recruitment with necessary qualification, still many more of our employees have got in easily into government offices not out of merit but through other ‘extraneous factors’. And we can even justify such appointments which were made in the past. At that time, the government was new with thousands of vacancies to be filled and there were not many qualified people around besides recruitment norms and agency such as NPSC were yet to take proper shape.
However today it is very different. There are few openings and thousands of educated unemployed youths seeking the limited opportunity. As such the only was to recruit new work force should be through competitive tests and interviews. And this should be conducted in a transparent manner giving equal opportunity to everyone. In this regard, it appears that certain discrepancy exists on the recent advertisement published in the local dailies by the P&AR department to fill up the resultant vacancy under the Directorates and district offices. The NSF has rightly pointed out on the need to conduct written examination beside interview for the departmental examination. The NSF has also demanded the government to advertise all the resultant vacancy in Toto affected out of the Retirement Act including Grade IV. Unlike in the past, the government can ill afford to compromise on quality. The stakes are high and undue expectation is there on the government to perform. As such our workforce of the future should be made up of the best persons who are capable enough to perform at the highest level. The Nagaland government machinery faces significant challenges associated with an aging workforce, unskilled labour, indolence, partiality etc. To address these challenges, our recruitment should be in tune with renewal of public service as a mission and ensuring that a highly competent, non-partisan workforce is able to support the government in the delivery of services to the masses. Merit based recruitment in a transparent and fair manner is absolutely vital for the future development of an effective workforce. We can ill afford to ignore this.
