ISLAMABAD, Dec 24: Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has stressed the need for a major revamp of the country's education system to meet the challenge of the biggest skills gap with which it was faced today.

He was speaking to senior government officials who have been selected to get executive development training from the Harvard University, USA. He told a questioner that the Pay and Services Commission was working on a compensation package for civil servants but stressed that in the future it must also include reward on the basis of performance.

"We have to evolve a system which penalizes bad performers and rewards the good ones," he remarked. The premier asked civil servants to adopt a proactive and result-oriented approach to enhancing efficiency and output in government departments and be more responsive to the public needs.

He said training was a continuous process and the rapid global changes required that new skills be learnt for becoming successful persons. He said there were many 'unpolished gems' among civil servants who needed training and exposure. They could make a major difference after getting proper leadership training, he added.

Mr Aziz said: "We have to prepare a civil service which is responsive to public problems and takes initiatives proactively to resolve them." He urged civil servants to change their mindset, be adaptive and try to absorb modern skills.

About sending officers on a costly training programme, he said the government wanted to provide its officers an opportunity to upgrade their capacity, improve their knowledge and equip themselves with the ability to deliver through such training.