It's time to restrain bureaucrats

Deputy commissioners (DCs), as the administrative representatives of the government at the district level, enjoy literally monarchic authority and privilege. They come from the middle echelon of the bureaucracy, but their authority, jurisdiction and privilege often exceed those of their seniors in other postings. They are more district administrators, as their position in Bangla suggests, than deputy commissioners. The Bangla synonym of 'deputy commissioner' is Zila Proshasok, literally district administrator. Still, the deputy commissioners do not seem content with their authority and privileges. While attending the meetings with government high-ups, they press for increasing their authority a few notches up.
The government holds an annual conference of deputy commissioners every year with the participation of other bureaucrats too. The main objectives of the conference are to know the grassroots-level situation from them and seek suggestions and inform the field-level officials of various government decisions. But the DCs' conference has long been a platform for the bureaucrats to press home their various demands -- logical or illogical. Their proposal for establishing a separate public university for them and their children at the last DC conference has raised a lot of eyebrows. Many people have questioned the motive behind the proposal with some suspecting that it is intended to secure an extra mileage, as far as education and jobs are concerned. It is obvious that in an environment where bureaucrats already enjoy preference in higher education at public universities, raising such an absurd proposal will draw flak.
Amid the hullabaloo over the proposal, the minister for public administration has already given due attention to the matter and assured that the government has no plan to establish such a university, but discussion on the matter is not ending in the public domain. Maybe it is because the public think that once the idea has been floated by the bureaucrats, they will not easily give it up and the government is not in a position to ignore their proposal, let alone rebuffing them. In fact, it is the government that has created the environment where public servants dare place any proposal and raise any absurd demand they take fancy to.
In Bangladesh, bureaucrats influence almost every policy and decision. If a separate university is established for them and their children, they will leave no stone unturned to elevate it above all other universities. Such a university will not only provide the children of bureaucrats with undue privileges in higher education but also give them extra mileage in job competition.
Bureaucrats, through their acts and manoeuvres, have already elevated their position from public servants to public administrators and created a superior class perception for them. The mass media carried news items on numerous incidents of bureaucrats unleashing their wrath on service seekers or even journalists just for not addressing them 'sir'. But maybe they are still not satisfied, now they need a special class for their offspring too.
The government should realise that the establishment of any university for bureaucrats' children is destined to contribute to discrimination against a great number of admission and job seekers coming from disadvantaged and ordinary families and deprive them of any opportunity for fair competition. It should not give in to any undue demands raised by bureaucrats. It must not indulge them any further. To restrain them is long overdue.

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