The late President Ziaur Rahman introduced the Senior Service Pool (SSP) with several objectives, including eliminating discrimination in the appointment to senior government posts. To build a people-oriented, transparent, accountable, and efficient administrative structure, the SSP system at the time allowed open competition among different cadres for senior positions based on written exam results. This reduced the dominance of the administration cadre in the civil service. As a result, a section of officers from the administration cadre opposed it, which slowed down its implementation. After Ziaur Rahman’s death, the SSP became ineffective, and later the Ershad government abolished it. Analysts say this move solidified the administration cadre’s authority in the civil service.
According to officials, to remove the colonial-era influence from the post-independence bureaucracy and end the dominance of the administration cadre over other posts, President Ziaur Rahman’s government formed the SSP on August 23, 1979. At the time, the pool had 625 positions. The SSP, designed for officers from the rank of Deputy Secretary and above, was open to all cadres. Based on written exam results, officers could compete openly for the pool. This allowed qualified officers from different cadres to have the opportunity to reach the highest tiers of government positions. However, after Hussain Muhammad Ershad took power in 1982, the SSP system created by the previous government became ineffective, and in 1989 it was abolished.
Regarding the formation of the SSP, Cabinet Secretary Dr. Sheikh Abdur Rashid told Bonik Barta, “The SSP was definitely a good system. It would have been better if it had continued. But later it was abolished.” He also mentioned that he discussed the matter in his book “Civil Service at the Cross-roads.”
There are allegations that Bangladesh’s civil administration is top-heavy. During the tenure of the previous government, over-promotion to senior positions beyond the approved posts became a regular occurrence, reportedly to gain political advantage. It is widely known that among the 28 cadres of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS), the administration cadre ranks first in terms of power and influence. In each BCS recruitment, the government appoints a significant number of officers to this cadre. Recently, in the 44th BCS, the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC) recommended the appointment of 250 officers to the administration cadre. In the previous 43rd BCS, it had recommended 300 more officers for the same cadre. However, after the interim government took charge, the appointment of part of those recommended for the administration cadre in that BCS has yet to be finalized. According to the Government Employees Management System (GEMS), the administration cadre currently has 6,535 officers in service.
In neighboring India, the administration cadre is known as the Indian Administrative Service (IAS). Each year, the country’s government recruits an average of about 180 new IAS officers through the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC). Despite India’s vast size and population of nearly 1.5 billion, the number of officers responsible for running the administration is almost the same as in Bangladesh. According to 2025 data from the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, the total number of sanctioned IAS cadre posts in India is currently 6,877, of which 5,577 officers are in service.
In this regard, Professor Dr. Musleh Uddin Ahmed of the Public Administration Department at University of Dhaka said, “We have developed a top-heavy administration in our country. The previous government gave more benefits to keep officials in its fold and granted mass promotions to protect its own interests. Now attention should be paid to this matter.”
Under the SSP order, positions of Deputy Secretary and above in the Secretariat were brought under this pool. It was stipulated that the government would include in the pool those selected by the BPSC from among officers of different cadres. Examination would be held for inclusion in the pool. Officers under the age of 40 could sit for the exam no more than three times. Later, although the PSC announced the exam date and published the syllabus, the exam could not be held. In this regard, former Cabinet Secretary Mohammad Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan told Bonik Barta, “Through the formation of the SSP, the decision was that officers would be included in this pool through a competitive process. This system exists in various countries around the world. In other words, the aim was to bring the most qualified, skilled, and meritorious government officers to the policy-making level of the country. Serving officers were given the opportunity to enter the pool through an exam. However, at that time, those working in the Secretariat were included in the pool without taking the exam. It was decided that those who came later would join through the exam. But these posts never became vacant. Later, Mr. Ershad came and abolished them.”
The SSP order clearly stated the provisions for including officers in the pool as well as their appointment to subsequent higher positions. After the pool was formed, the PSC was given the responsibility of including officers from various cadres in it. The PSC prepared and distributed the syllabus for the competitive examination. The total marks for the test were set at 1,000—700 for the written exam, 150 for the viva voce, and 150 based on the Annual Confidential Report (ACR). On January 25 and 26, 1988, the SSP exam schedule was announced for the first time. However, following government orders, the PSC canceled the test. The exam was never held again, and the SSP was abolished.
BNP Chairperson’s Advisory Council member Ismail Jabiullah told Bonik Barta, “The initiative taken by Ziaur Rahman regarding the SSP at that time was the most effective step. There is no doubt about it. At different times, disparities have been created among various cadres. One cadre raises various objections against another, and each has their own reasoning. In fact, each cadre has specific characteristics. We should move forward while preserving those characteristics. For that, if we follow the existing service rules and promotion rules in the country, there should be no problem for now.”
He also said, “The Public Administration Reform Commission has proposed a reform similar to the SSP. But there are all kinds of disputes over it among different cadres. I do not want to get into that. The most important thing is that there is a verdict in an appeal case in the Supreme Court. At this stage, nothing else can be done while the verdict stands. The verdict must be followed. Those who proposed this in the reform commission also said the same.”
Speaking to several current and former officials of different cadre services, it was learned that the core idea of the SSP was to ensure equal opportunities for officials of all cadres in public administration and to appoint competent officers to higher positions based on merit. In this regard, Dr. Muhammad Mofizur Rahman, coordinator of the Inter-Cadre Discrimination Elimination Council, told Bonik Barta, “The SSP was basically designed to make each sector specialized, which Ziaur Rahman did with his foresight. He wanted such an arrangement to create a balance among senior officers and to develop specialists in every sector. But fearing decentralization of power, one group became dissatisfied and obstructed it in various ways. During Hussain Muhammad Ershad’s regime, quotas were first imposed here. When BNP returned to power, the quota was abolished, but in 2010, former Justice A B M Khairul Haque’s bench upheld the quota. Later, a review appeal was filed in 2024 regarding the matter, and the case is currently under trial in court.”
If the SSP had been implemented, officials from different ministries would have had the opportunity to join public administration based on their qualifications. Those involved believe this would have maintained balance in government operations. It would have reduced distances among different cadres and allowed skilled officials from relevant sectors to work in senior positions in many specialized departments. On condition of anonymity, another member of the council said, “The recent talk about a coup in ministry might not have arisen if ministries were run with officials from all sectors. A small group still wants to keep the state and society under their control. Even though there is talk about a discrimination-free society, the government remains hostage to a certain class.”
Analysts believe that late President Ziaur Rahman introduced the SSP to enhance the professional skills of the civil service and make it more people-oriented. Professor Dr. Musleh Uddin Ahmed told Bonik Barta, “It was a noble initiative by Ziaur Rahman. If it had continued, the civil service would have developed into a more professional institution. The father of the term ‘bureaucracy’ is Max Weber. He also said there would be some dysfunctions. If those dysfunctions can be addressed and made dynamic, then it becomes functional. That should be the focus now. Bureaucracy should be made more people-oriented.”
Professor Md Mahmudur Rahman of the Public Administration Department at Jahangirnagar University believes that late President Ziaur Rahman introduced the SSP to eliminate inter-cadre disparities in the bureaucracy. He told Bonik Barta, “It is true that the administrative cadre holds more dominance. This area should be balanced in the bureaucracy. Late President Ziaur Rahman wanted to bring this balance. Through the introduction of the SSP, he aimed to remove the disparity in high-level appointments.”
The idea behind the SSP was to ensure appointments to top government positions through a competitive process. This would allow the most qualified individuals to be promoted while making it difficult for any particular cadre to establish dominance. Former Secretary Akhter Hossain Khan told Bonik Barta, “After independence, more than four hundred officers from the admin cadre were recruited in three phases. After the formation of the SSP, during Ershad’s time of establishing the Upazila Administration, a large number were recruited into the admin cadre. Later, in 1984, more recruitment took place in the admin cadre. I think the SSP could not be implemented due to the recruitment of so many officers. The main aspect of the SSP was to select skilled, competent, and meritorious officers through a written examination. Although the exam was announced once, it never took place. As a result of the SSP’s failure, the dominance of the admin cadre has increased.”
At different times, inter-cadre conflicts have made headlines in the media. Protests have also been seen over the matter, but the issue has yet to be resolved. Chief of the Election System Reform Commission Badiul Alam Majumdar told Bonik Barta, “Officers of the administrative cadre consider themselves superior. On the other hand, other cadres complain that the admin cadre officers dominate them in various ways. We sat with them in the Consensus Commission. We tried to solve the inter-cadre problems. We have not been able to do that yet. For the sake of all our interests, this needs to be resolved. We tried, but so far, we have not succeeded. Let’s see what happens.”