The Pancyprian Public Servants' Trade Union (PASYDY) is expected to meet President Nikos Christodoulides in the near future to discuss concerns over the system governing interdepartmental promotions in the civil service, arguing that long-standing distortions in the process require reform.
According to PASYDY secretary-general Stratis Matheou, the recent implementation of written examinations on subject-specific knowledge for first-appointment-and-promotion positions in salary scale A13 and for positions in scales A14 and above has raised legitimate concerns.
"The issue is not whether examinations should exist," Mr Matheou told Politis. "The real question is: what exactly are we trying to assess?"
Assessing knowledge or rewarding memorisation?
According to PASYDY, the objective of any selection process for senior and management positions should be to identify the most suitable candidates, namely those with academic qualifications, substantial experience, administrative competence, sound judgement, understanding and deep knowledge of the department they are expected to lead.
Instead, Mr Matheou argues, the current examination format appears to place disproportionate weight on memorising legislation and regulations, many of which are not directly related to the duties of the position being filled.
As a result, he warns, there is a risk that the process rewards the ability to memorise information rather than genuine professional competence.
"Is it possible that the most suitable director is selected because he or she remembers more articles of legislation and not because he or she has an in-depth understanding of the service that will be managed?" he asked.
Mr Matthaiou argued that a director of a public service is not expected to function as a "mobile library" of laws and regulations.
Rather, senior officials are required to make critical decisions, shape strategy, manage personnel, solve complex problems and possess a comprehensive understanding of their department's mission and challenges.
According to PASYDY, examinations should therefore assess precisely those qualities.
"Questions should be based on real service-related issues, practical examples, case studies and problems that the specific department faces on a daily basis," Mr Matheou said.
"Only in this way can it be determined whether a candidate possesses the necessary knowledge, judgement and administrative ability."
Why interdepartmental examinations?
Mr Matheou also raised what he described as a second equally important issue: why are the examinations conducted on an interdepartmental basis rather than within individual departments?
He questioned whether candidates seeking promotion in entirely different areas of government can realistically be assessed through the same process.
"Can a candidate seeking a position in the Tax Department be examined in the same way as a candidate for the Veterinary Services, the Water Development Department or the Geological Survey Department?" he asked.
According to Mr Matheou, every government department has a distinct mission, different responsibilities and requires different expertise.
Successful leadership of a department, he said, presupposes deep knowledge of its subject matter and the specific challenges it faces.
PASYDY's position
Mr Matheou stressed that PASYDY supports all procedures that strengthen transparency and meritocracy.
However, he argued that meritocracy is not guaranteed simply because a written examination exists.
Instead, examinations must evaluate the skills and abilities genuinely required for the position rather than an applicant's ability to memorise general legislative provisions.
"The public service needs officials with knowledge, experience, judgement and administrative competence," he said.
"It needs people who have an in-depth understanding of the area they will be called upon to serve, not simply candidates who prepared more effectively in memorising laws."
For this reason, PASYDY is calling for a review of the content of written examinations for posts from A13 upwards, so that they better reflect the actual requirements of the positions, assess meaningful knowledge and skills, and ensure that the most capable and suitable officials are appointed to positions of responsibility.
"The public administration does not need champions of memorisation," Mr Matheou said. "It needs capable leaders."
Reform of the public service
Mr Matheou described public service reform as an issue of major importance, stressing that the ultimate objective is an effective and efficient civil service.
"In this particular case there are distortions that add no value whatsoever to the functioning of the public service and create more problems," he said.
According to PASYDY, the goal should be to promote the best, most productive and most effective candidate.
Mr Matheou said a meeting with the President of the Republic is expected to be arranged soon to discuss the matter.
