The Nepal government has decided to introduce a new provision to allow fresh graduates to intern in public offices. A meeting of the government secretaries led by Chief Secretary Ek Narayan Aryal took the decision and formed a seven-member task force to prepare the standard format to hire such interns in the public and government services, according to a statement issued after the meeting.

“We are going to introduce this provision in the civil service for the first time that will benefit both the students and government,” Aryal told the Post.

A taskforce has been formed headed by the secretary at the Prime Minister’s Office looking after the development and management sector to hire graduates from different universities as interns in the public service and to prepare a standard format within ten days, the statement reads.

Other representatives in the taskforce are secretaries of National Planning Commission; Ministry of Education, Science and Technology; Ministry of Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs; Physical Infrastructure and Transportation; Ministry of Health and Population; and Director General of Department of Information.

Earlier, former Education Minister Sumana Shrestha had tried to introduce a similar provision at different entities at the Ministry of Education but it was later shelved due to protest within the ministry. The internship procedure named “Education Catalyst Mobilisation Procedure 2080” was approved at the end of March which was repealed immediately after criticism within and outside the bureaucracy. The procedure had mentioned that anyone who is studying or has completed higher education (graduate and above) can be employed as a trainee.

But Shrestha faced criticism within the ministry and bureaucracy. The civil servants inside the Education Ministry opposed her move saying that hiring such interns may leak crucial information. Detractors also said it was an attempt to disbelieve government employees, it will create unnecessary hoarding and hassles inside the ministries and several entities under the Ministry of Education.

In the new provision, according to Chief Secretary Aryal, the government will allow one year of traineeship to graduates from any university. Some incentives will be provided to such interns, he added.

“We have formed a taskforce to prepare the procedure of hiring, requirements, incentives and other provisions,” Aryal said. “The ministries concerned will depute the graduates in different offices across the country.”

Each ministry will undertake the responsibility of hiring the interns and assign the jobs as per the terms of references prepared by the task force, said Aryal.

The meeting also decided to develop a system so that any file that is registered in the government office can be tracked and monitored. The Office of the Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM) has developed a QR (quick response) code-based tracking system, said the statement. After the trial launch, all the government entities will adopt the system to track the file of different natures, said the statement.

In the past also, the OPMCM had tried to adopt a similar kind of system to track the file in various government ministries and entities but it could not succeed due to lack of willingness within the top bureaucratic level, said a joint secretary at OPMCM. “Now we are going to launch it from OPMCM and will expand to other offices so that complaints of not moving files of different natures will be resolved,” the official said. “If any file does not move from any office, the QR system will show the status of the file, and then it will be easier to follow up and to update the status of such a file.”

The OPMCM has also developed an app. If anyone registers a file, the relevant government official will update its status inside the “file movement tracking system” and each official and government offices who go through the particular file should update the latest status of the file. A QR code will be chipped in such a file so every office can scan to know the latest status of the file and do the required work. With the help of technology, the status of the file will be known while chipping in the QR system, the joint secretary added. “This is going to be another positive move and a relief to the service seekers.”

The meeting also decided to remove duplication seen in various projects and urged the execution of project planning templates by government agencies. The meeting of the various government secretaries urged the National Vigilance Centre to take vigil in government agencies based on public complaints registered through Hello Sarkar and decided to update and upgrade the integrated data management centre so that information about the service delivery can be disseminated through the digital platforms. The meeting also decided that the use of an integrated website management system and the government email and its protection will be strengthened by removing technical glitches, according to the statement. Moreover, the meeting also decided to speed up the rehabilitation and reconstruction works in different parts of the country following last month’s floods and landslides.