PESHAWAR, Dec 25: The NWFP government has created a new service cadre -- Provincial Management Service (PMS) -- by merging the executive and secretariat groups of the Provincial Civil Service (PCS).

Rules governing the new cadre have been notified by the authority concerned. The Provincial Public Service Commission (PPSC) had been advised to recruit officers for the PMS, establishment department officials told Dawn.

A committee, headed by the additional chief secretary, has completed the work on the preparation for the new service cadre, rules and syllabus.

The officials said the formation of new provincial service was necessary to fill the newly-created positions under the district administrative set-up and abolition of the posts of extra-assistant commissioners (EACs), deputy commissioners (DCs), district magistrates (DMs) and commissioners.

Previously, the NWFP Provincial Civil Service (Executive Group) Rules 1997 had been fillied such administrative posts both by way of initial recruitment and promotion.

These rules, however, had become redundant and the provincial government was required to frame fresh recruitment and service rules for the newly-created posts in the districts after the introduction of the devolution of plan, they maintained.

Owing to absence of the service rules for the new posts in the post-devolution scenario, neither the PPSC could make recruitments against 278 posts of BPS-17 in the districts since 2001 nor could promotions be made against them. In addition to this, 194 posts of grade-17 have been lying vacant in various districts, they explained.

Under the new arrangement, the PMS will comprise all the existing BS-17 to BS-21 posts allocated to the PCS (Secretariat Group) and the PCS (Executive Group) on the basis of the 1994 Apportionment Formula between the All Pakistan Unified Group (APUG) and PCS officers.

The entry to the PMS will be appointment to BS-17 posts; 50 per cent by initial recruitment and 20 per cent each by promotion from amongst tehsildars and superintendents/private secretaries through the Provincial Selection Board (PSB). The remaining 10 per cent quota will be kept reserved for direct recruitment through the PPSC from among the provincial government employees who have completed 10 years of service and have a minimum educational qualification of graduation.

The minimum qualification for promotion has also been fixed at graduation.

However, the government servants have been allowed a relaxation of seven years in minimum educational qualification to enable them to enter the new category.

To ensure administrative efficacy and good governance, emphasis has been laid to the training component of the new service. The government in consultation with the PPSC has adopted the Central Superior Service Examination syllabus in its entirety for the PMS examinations.

The training period has been increased from four months to one and a half years, of which the last six months will be meant for attachment of the probationers to various departments in order to familiarise them with the practical aspects of the public sector business.

The provincial establishment department, the officials said, had advised the PPSC to make recruitment against 194 posts of BPS-17 currently lying in the districts under the PMS.

The existing and new officers of the PMS could now be posted against the secretariat as well as field posts both in settled and tribal areas, the officials said.