Students Protest Against Interference in Public Service Commission's Authority

Kathmandu. Students preparing for the Public Service Commission are continuing their protest at Maitighar alleging interference in the authority of the Public Service Commission. They have protested demanding the abolition of clause number 11 of the decision made by the secretary-level meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary on July 4. The students participating in the protest claimed that the decision interfered with the independence of a constitutional and autonomous body like the Public Service Commission. They stated that the provision requiring the Public Service Commission to obtain approval from the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers before publishing recruitment-related advertisements is unconstitutional. Deepak Regmi, a student participating in the protest, said that the Public Service Commission should be able to conduct the recruitment process independently according to its constitutional rights. He accused the government's decision of weakening the autonomy of the commission. The students have demanded that 10 percent of the employees working on contract be retained based on performance, and the remaining positions be filled permanently through open competition. The meeting chaired by Chief Secretary Govinda Bahadur Karki had decided that no new vacancies could be created without the approval of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. According to the 22-point decision signed by Chief Secretary Karki, no government office can create new vacancies in the current fiscal year without the approval of the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers. Students have been protesting against the same decision for the past few days. "We are particularly unhappy with clause number 11 of the decision made by the secretary-level meeting chaired by the Chief Secretary on July 4, 2083 BS," Regmi said. "The Public Service Commission itself is a constitutional and autonomous body, and it should be allowed to do its work." He stated that constitutional bodies are interfered with in point number 11 of the decision. "Why should a constitutional body ask the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers to open advertisements and fill vacancies?" he questioned. He further demanded that only 10 percent of the contract employees be retained based on performance, and the remaining 90 percent be removed, with those positions filled permanently through open competition. The protesters carried placards with slogans such as 'Cannot snatch the right to open competition', 'Stop party-based division in administration, remove contract employees immediately', 'Why should an independent constitutional body take approval from the Prime Minister and the Council of Ministers?', 'Cannot stop recruitment, cannot snatch the rights of the Public Service Commission', 'Conduct advertisements and examination programs according to the Public Service Commission's schedule', 'If you have connections, eat youth, eat private secretary! If you are going to compete in the Public Service Commission, go away! A... A... A!!', and 'The government should read well about good governance, rule of law, and democracy at least once'.