Ag HCSF Inaugurates Committee of NCE to assess relevance of professional Certificate in scheme of Service

The Acting Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Dr. Folasade Yemi-Esan has inaugurated a 7-member Committee of National Council on Establishment (NCE) on the assessment of the relevance of professional certificates in the schemes of service and other issues relating to enhanced entry point and internship programme in the civil/public service of the Federation.

During the inauguration which took place on Friday, 21st February, 2020 in Abuja, Dr Yemi-Esan said the constitution of the committee was as result of incessant requests from different professional bodies over the years that have been agitating for the inclusion of their respective professional qualifications in the Schemes of Service. There were also other requests on internship programme and enhanced entry point from stakeholders which featured frequently in the agenda of Council’s meeting. According to her, “it is imperative that the incessant requests be addressed and the matter resolved once and for all”.

While acknowledging the need to sustain a professionalised Civil/Public Service that will meet the yearnings of the Citizenry, the Ag HCSF maintained that the Organisations to drive this must be seen to have the capacity.

According to the statement made available to News Dot Africa, the Committee is to assess the content value and relevance of the professional qualifications already in the Schemes of Service to decide their continuous use or otherwise as well as other matters that the Committee might consider capable of adding value to improve productivity in the Service in line with its Terms of Reference.

The Committee is to be chaired by the Niger State Head of Service, Mrs. Salamatu Abubakar while Heads of Service from Anambra, Delta, Ondo, Kaduna and Adamawa are members. The Director, Organisation Design and Development (ODD), OHCSF, Mr. Benjamin Omogo is to serves as Secretary to the Committee.

Dr Esan thanked them for honouring the call to serve as members of the Committee and urged them to bring their wealth of experience to bear in carrying out the task.

The terms of reference for the Committee (ToR) include:

i. Assessing the content values of professional bodies already in the Schemes of Service with the view to ascertaining the suitability or otherwise of the continued use of their professional Certificates in the Service;

ii. Reviewing the enhanced entry points already approved for certain Cadres in the Schemes of Service;

iii. Recommending guidelines for granting enhanced entry points and internship status to Cadres in the Service to stem incessant requests;

iv. Assessing the role of Government regulatory Agencies and their relevance in the professionalization of Cadres with a view to replacing the professional bodies in the Schemes of Service; and

v. Addressing any other issues ancillary to the professionalization of Cadres in the Public/Civil Service workforce.

The Committee has less than six (6) weeks to conclude its assignment and be ready to submit its report at the next Council meeting.

In her response, the Chairman of the Committee, the Niger State Head of Service on behalf of the Committee appreciated the Ag HCSF for the opportunity given them to serve. She pledged that the committee would come out with a very fruitful result that would move the service forward.