Field Officials to Manage Administration, Secretariat to Operate Under SES
The Public Administration Reform Commission has recommended renaming the existing BCS Administration Cadre as the Bangladesh Administrative Service, with its positions restricted to field administration. Meanwhile, the Secretariat will be managed by officials from the newly proposed Superior Executive Service (SES), composed of officers from various services. The SES will include officials holding ranks from Deputy Secretary to Additional Secretary, with a 50-50 quota between the administration and other services for Deputy Secretary appointments.
The commission submitted its report today to the Chief Adviser of the interim government, Dr. Muhammad Yunus, at the Jamuna State Guest House. Following the submission, a summary of the report was shared with journalists.
Key Recommendations
According to the recommendations, officials within the administration cadre will start as Assistant Commissioners, with their highest field rank being Divisional Commissioner, equivalent to a Grade-1 Secretary. However, a newly proposed top position, Chief Commissioner, will be introduced, holding a special grade equivalent to the Principal Secretary. Similar restructuring has been suggested for other services under different titles.
The commission has also proposed abolishing the unified Cadre Service under the BCS system and instead dividing the existing 26 cadres into 13 major service groups based on their functions. The report outlines a detailed career progression structure for each service.
Proposed Career Progression for the Administrative Service:
Entry-level: Assistant Commissioner
Next levels: Senior Assistant Commissioner & Upazila Commissioner (currently Upazila Nirbahi Officer or UNO) – Grade-6
Mid-level: Additional Deputy Commissioner (currently ADC) – Grade-5
Higher levels: Deputy Commissioner (currently DC) – Grade-3, equivalent to Joint Secretary (currently Grade-5)
Top levels: Additional Divisional Commissioner – Grade-2
Highest rank in field administration: Divisional Commissioner
Similarly, for other services, the career progression will include:Assistant Director → Upazila Head → Additional Director → Director → Additional Director General → Director General
Each service will have a top leadership position, such as "Chief of Health Service" for the health sector. Officials will be promoted through competitive examinations.
Secretariat to be Managed by SES Officers
The report suggests that officials from all services will have the opportunity to compete for recruitment into the Superior Executive Service (SES), which will manage the Secretariat. Currently, only administration cadre officials run the Secretariat.
Administrative officers who choose not to take the SES exam or fail it will still have promotion opportunities within their own service, up to the rank of Chief Commissioner or equivalent positions.
The Public Administration Reform Commission believes these changes will improve governance, enhance efficiency, and ensure merit-based appointments across all government services.
