Working for the government brings prestige, job security and a pension. Sounds good? It sure does. Government service is thus the first preference for many jobseekers. The first step for anyone wishing to be a government employee is passing the examination taken by the Public Service Commission. The PSC is the official agency that selects personnel needed by the government.

All the members of the civil service are recruited through an open competitive examination conducted by the PSC. The police and the army do their own hiring. However, its representative sits on their selection board.

“A candidate should have an academic degree and knowledge of general administration and the department one is applying to work in besides a command of the Nepali and English languages,” said PSC spokesperson Niranjan Prasad Upadhyay.

Job hopefuls also need to exhibit leadership quality, interpersonal skill and stress handling capability. Candidates passing the PSC exam undergo Basic Administrative Training at Staff College at Jawalakhel which is a six-month programme.

The Nepal Civil Service Act 1956 has classified civil servants into two categories-gazetted services and non-gazetted services. Gazetted services are further grouped into classes I, II and III. Class III is the entry level for civil officers, which is followed by under secretary, joint secretary and secretary. “An officer should serve in each position for at least five years to be eligible for successive promotion,” said Upadhyay. The minimum service duration has been lowered to four years for women, members of indigenous communities, Madhesis, Dalits, the handicapped and those belonging to deprived communities. Officials holding a doctoral degree also qualify for the reduced service period.

Depending on the academic background, an applicant can choose to apply for one of the two gazetted services-technical officer or non-technical officer. A candidate applying for a non-technical position has to pass a preliminary test which is followed by a written exams and interview. Those applying for technical positions do not need to sit for the preliminary test. According to Upadhyay, the written examination for technical officers is mainly based on objective questions.

The administrative division has four sub-divisions including general administration, account, revenue and foreign services. “The office manages separate examinations for the candidates applying for revenue and foreign services,” said Upadhyay.

Until a few years ago, there used to be very little participation of women in the examination taken by the PSC. Nowadays, however, more women are applying for government service. “The recent instance of 14 women officers being selected for the foreign service shows the increasing attraction of women in this sector,” he said.

The PSC invites job applications as per the recommendation of the Ministry of General Administration. According to Upadhyay, the PSC is planning to act only as a monitoring authority for recruitment in the civil service in the near future.

The age limit for candidates is 35 years for men while it is 40 years for women and members of indigenous communities, Madhesis, Dalits, the handicapped and those belonging to deprived communities. The minimum academic qualification is a bachelor’s degree. Currently, the government has reserved 45 percent of the seats in the civil service under the inclusive provision. The starting salary of an officer in both technical and administrative divisions is Rs 13,990.