OPINION> Commentary
Appraisal of civil servants
(China Daily)
Updated: 2008-12-09 07:45

The evaluation of civil servants should be for the purpose of eliminating those who do not perform their duties well, says an article in People's Daily. The following is an excerpt:

Civil servants will be fired if they can't pass the annual evaluation for two consecutive years, according to the new regulations.

Because of both the traditional respect for government officials and the fierce job market competition, the positions of civil servants have become a "golden rice bowl" for job seekers. It seems that once they work for the government, they will have the job forever - except the corrupt ones. It results in the mediocrity of many civil servants.

Therefore, it's quite necessary to build an exit system for civil servants - to raise their sense of duty and prompt them to work harder.

Then there are the questions of how to build a scientific evaluation system and who can serve as the judges. And the judges can't simply come from the government itself, but they should include the people who they work for. Only when the people feel satisfied can the civil servants pass the evaluation.

(China Daily 12/09/2008 page8)