10/05/2026
The Outdated CSS and PMS System (The “All-Rounder” Bureaucracy): A Major Impediment to Pakistan’s Progress. Since 1947, the same paradigm has persisted. Every year, a few hundred young individuals pass the CSS/PMS examination, undergo a two-year training program at the academy, and emerge as “all-rounder” officers. Subsequently, a game of musical chairs ensues: today they are the Secretary of Health, tomorrow the Secretary of Education, the day after Agriculture, Railways, Finance, Customs one officer, one decade, six different departments. However, what are the qualifications of this “all-rounder”? No medical degree, no teaching experience, no understanding of farming, no knowledge of economics. Yet, this same officer will instruct a PhD professor with 30 years of teaching experience on how to design a curriculum. Will advise a surgeon with 20 years of operating experience on how to manage a hospital. And will formulate agricultural policy despite never having worked in agriculture. This “all-rounder bureaucracy” is the same antiquated system inherited from the British era that has hindered our progress for 80 years. The consequences are evident: doctors are preoccupied with paperwork, while policy decisions are made by individuals without medical experience. Teachers are powerless, while decisions are made by those without teaching experience. Farmers are drowning in debt, while the head of agriculture lacks familiarity with farming. Young people acquire degrees and emigrate. There is only one solution: 1. Entrust each sector to its specialists. The health sector should be managed by doctors, education by education experts, agriculture by agricultural scientists, economics by economists, and engineering by engineers. 2. Discontinue the practice of frequent transfers. Instead of changing positions every two years, maintain continuity within the relevant department to strengthen institutions. 3. Limit the role of generalist officers to law and order, coordination, federal liaison, and crisis management, excluding technical policy-making. 4. Reform the recruitment process. CSS or PMS should be limited to administrative coordination. For every other sector, recruit top experts through open competition. The world has progressed, and countries like Singapore, Malaysia, and Germany have long entrusted sectors to specialists. We are still adhering to the outdated formula of “jack of all trades, master of none.” Nations are built on expertise, not on inexperienced officers. Eighty years is sufficient. It is time to reform the system, or future generations will continue to pay the price. The current system must be challenged in court to prevent further decline and destruction of the country.
By : Administration of Health Line Figure
