Principles and Standards Adopted by the Public Service Commission under Federal Law
The following principles and standards adopted by the Public Service Commission (PSC - Lok Sewa Aayog) in the course of performing its functions under federal law have been made public for the purpose of Section 11, Subsection (2) of the Province Public Service Commission (Basis and Standards) Act, 2075.
1. Principles of the Commission’s Performance
a. Principle of Merit
In examinations conducted by the Commission, candidates who obtain the highest marks and rank at the top shall be recommended for appointment according to the number of posts.
b. Principle of Impartiality
No bias or prejudice shall be maintained toward any candidate on the basis of the candidate’s individual characteristics or affiliation.
c. Principle of Fairness
The Commission shall perform its functions by adopting appropriate methods to make its activities fair, transparent, credible, reliable, lawful, and free from irregularities.
d. Principle of Equal Opportunity
All Nepali citizens who meet the prescribed qualifications for entry into service shall be provided equal opportunity to participate in competitive examinations conducted by the Commission.
e. Principle of Inclusiveness
Advertisements shall be published by determining the percentage prescribed for inclusive groups under prevailing law, and suitable candidates shall be selected through competitive examinations and recommended for appointment.
f. Principle of Double Blindness
An official or employee involved in any one confidential stage of the recruitment process shall not be involved in another stage of the same process.
g. Principle of Identity Masking
Before answer sheets are evaluated, double coding shall be carried out, the portion that reveals the candidate’s identity and contains the candidate’s details shall be separated from the answer sheet, and all work up to the preparation of the final result shall be performed using the second code.
h. Principle of Recusal
If a close relative of an official, employee, subject expert, or specialist of the Commission is a candidate in an examination conducted by the Commission, the concerned person shall remain separate from the entire process of that examination.
i. Principle of Confidentiality
To make the examination system credible, the Commission shall maintain confidentiality at all stages of the recruitment process, except on matters that must be made public.
2. Performance Standards of the Recruitment Process
a. Division of Work
When subject experts or specialists are assigned for question paper preparation, question paper moderation, and answer sheet evaluation, they shall be assigned by different officials of the Commission. Separate employees shall be deployed for the corresponding tasks.
b. Publication of Work Schedule
For the purpose of making recommendations for recruitment, the Commission shall make public an annual work schedule at the beginning of the fiscal year. The schedule shall include collection of requisitions, determination of the number of posts and percentages, publication of advertisements, conduct of written examinations and publication of results, interviews, recommendations, other technical matters, and dates.
c. Determination of Number of Posts
For recruitment to the class or level and post of the concerned service, the number of posts shall be determined on the basis of the percentage prescribed in the prevailing law relating to the service conditions of that post.
d. Curriculum Preparation
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For competitive examinations conducted by the Commission, the curriculum shall be approved and made public according to service, group/subgroup, and class/level. This shall be based on the job description of the post to be filled, the minimum academic qualification, and the competency required for the post.
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While determining the curriculum, it shall be determined as follows:
a. The pass mark shall be set at a minimum of 40 percent of the full marks for the written examination and a minimum of 50 percent of the full marks for the practical examination.
b. The marks weightage of subjective questions shall be maintained so that it does not exceed 25 marks per question.
c. The language of the questions to be asked in the examination and the language in which candidates shall answer shall be clearly specified in the curriculum.
d. For multiple-choice questions, the time allowed to answer each question shall be determined so that it does not exceed a maximum of one minute.
e. For every 100 full marks of a subjective examination, the time shall be fixed at three hours for officer level and two hours and 30 minutes for assistant level.
f. The marks weightage of other examinations taken after the written examination shall not exceed 50 percent of the total marks weightage of the written examination.
g. If it is necessary to conduct a pre-qualifying test for posts of any class or level, that matter shall also be included in the curriculum.
e. Examination and Testing Method
When selecting candidates through competitive examinations, a written examination and interview shall be mandatory. In addition, a practical examination or other appropriate method may be adopted as required.
f. Publication of Advertisement
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While publishing an advertisement, the number of advertised posts, minimum qualification, examination fee, place for submitting applications, application period and final date, and other necessary matters shall be specified.
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While publishing advertisements, advertisement numbers shall be maintained in the order of promotion, open, and inclusive groups.
g. Approval of Applications
Applications of candidates who meet the conditions prescribed at the time of advertisement publication and the minimum qualifications prescribed under prevailing law shall be approved, and the name list shall be published.
h. Question Paper Preparation
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For each examination, raw question papers shall generally be prepared by at least five subject experts or specialists.
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Separate guidelines shall be prepared for preparing subjective and objective question papers and provided to the subject experts or specialists.
i. Question Paper Moderation
When moderating question papers for each examination, generally three sets of question papers shall be prepared.
j. Printing of Question Papers
Employees involved in the printing of question papers shall have the question paper selected by the designated official, print the required number of copies subject to prevailing law and the prescribed code of conduct, and store them securely.
k. Conduct of Examination
Arrangements shall be made to conduct the examination on the prescribed date, time, and place in an organized, dignified, secure, and economical manner.
l. Coding of Answer Sheets
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Except for answer sheets using an electronic code or barcode, first and second coding shall be carried out by separate teams, with the participation of at least two persons in each answer sheet.
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The counterfoil of the first coding shall be kept securely under the responsibility of the Secretary of the Commission, and the counterfoil of the second coding shall be kept securely under the responsibility of the Chairperson of the Commission.
m. Evaluation of Answer Sheets
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Arrangements shall be made for objective answer sheets to be evaluated in the office by designated employees.
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A separate number shall be assigned on the outer part of the bag or envelope containing sealed answer sheets received after second coding, and evaluation shall be carried out accordingly.
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Answer sheets of another paper of the same advertisement’s examination, or another section of the same paper, shall be evaluated by different subject experts or specialists.
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Where the same answer sheet is to be evaluated by two examiners, the marks awarded by both examiners shall be averaged and recorded as the marks obtained.
However, if the difference between the marks awarded by the two examiners is 20 percent or more of the full marks, all answer sheets of the concerned section or question number evaluated by that subject expert or specialist shall be re-evaluated by a third examiner. The average of the marks awarded by all three examiners shall be recorded as the marks obtained.
n. Preparation of Written Examination Result
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While preparing the result of the written examination, the marks obtained shall be verified on the basis of the second code, and tabulation and the merit order list shall be prepared.
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The decode form for the open category shall be prepared on the basis of the order of the second code, and the decode form for the inclusive category shall be prepared according to merit order and sent for publication of the result.
o. Publication of Written Examination Result
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While publishing the written examination result, the names of candidates shall be published in the prescribed number in alphabetical order according to the order of advertisements.
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While publishing the written examination result, if there are other examination programs after the written examination, those programs shall also be published, and such examinations shall be conducted before the interview.
p. Interview
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An interview committee consisting of at least three persons, including a subject expert, shall be formed for the interview.
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The marks weightage of the interview shall be fixed at up to 20 marks for 100 full marks, and thereafter 10 marks shall be added for each additional 100 full marks.
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If marks of more than 70 percent or less than 40 percent are awarded in the interview, justification must be provided. Such marks, along with the reasons, shall be maintained only if at least 50 percent of the members of the interview board award marks by stating the reason.
q. Publication of Final Result and Recommendation
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While publishing the final result, merit order shall be maintained on the basis of the marks obtained in all examinations prescribed in the curriculum of the concerned post, and the aggregate merit order, alternative list, and, as required, temporary list shall be published.
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If a candidate passes in more than one post of the same level, the candidate shall be recommended for only one post whose result is published first, so that there is no duplicate recommendation.
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When a candidate is to be recommended by specifying an agency or office, the recommendation shall be made on the basis of the candidate’s merit order and priority of preference.
Other Standards
a. Competition Not to Be Limited
Recruitment shall not be carried out in a manner that limits competition, such as conducting competition only among a limited number of persons, exempting temporary and contract employees from the age limit for appointment to permanent posts, or creating special posts and making special promotions for such employees even if they do not have the prescribed minimum academic qualification.
b. Regarding Consultation
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When providing consultation on laws relating to the service conditions of employees, it shall be provided subject to prevailing law and these principles and standards.
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When providing consultation on changing service, group, or subgroup, consultation may be given by requiring an examination in at least one service-related paper of the prescribed curriculum for that service, group, or subgroup. The pass mark for such examinations shall be maintained at 50 percent.
c. Regarding Complaints against Promotion
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If an eligible candidate who is not satisfied with a promotion recommendation made by the concerned promotion committee under prevailing law relating to the service group files a complaint within the time limit prescribed in the law relating to the concerned service conditions, a decision shall be made on that complaint with basis and reasons, taking into account prevailing legal provisions, established precedents, principles, and evidence.
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A member who made the promotion recommendation shall not be involved in the meeting of the Commission that decides on the complaint against that promotion recommendation.
d. Organization Structure and Staff Arrangement
While preparing the organization structure of the Commission, separate branches shall be maintained in a manner that upholds prevailing law, the principles and standards of the Commission, and the confidentiality and dignity of examinations.
e. Regarding Use of Services of Subject Experts or Specialists
When the Commission uses the services of subject experts or specialists for work requiring examination-related expert services, the details of such persons or the roster of specialists shall be updated at least once every two years. Expert services shall be obtained confidentially from the same roster.
f. Regarding Conflict of Interest
Officials, employees, subject experts, or specialists of the Commission shall not be involved in any examination-related work in a manner that creates a conflict of interest.
g. Regarding Maintaining Confidentiality
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Officials, employees, subject experts, or specialists involved in examination-related work of the Commission shall maintain full confidentiality in their work.
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To maintain the confidentiality and dignity of the Commission’s examinations, an employee assigned to one confidential task shall not be assigned to another confidential task at another stage of the same advertisement.
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Important documents relating to the Commission’s examinations and other activities shall be protected by maintaining confidentiality.
Date approved by the Commission: 2083/01/08
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