The move comes as candidates vying for the post of chief executive at public enterprises started filing lawsuits against the Board, citing the age ceiling fixed by it was not appropriate.[break]
The Board has currently set the age bar for candidates applying for chief´s post at public enterprises at 55. So far, three candidates vying for the top post at Nepal Electricity Authority, Nepal Oil Corporation and Janak Educational Materials Company have dragged the Board to the court over the matter.
Although high-ranking officials at the Board did not cite these as the reason for mulling over revision of age bar, they said it would be appropriate to raise the age ceiling to 60 years, as more qualified candidates would be able to take part in the open competition.
“We will soon discuss the matter in the board and make necessary amendments,” a high-ranking official of the Board told Republica on condition of anonymity.
Along with this, qualifications of candidates applying for the post of chief executive and board member at public enterprises are also being revised, according to the official.
Currently, the Board accepts application for the post of chief executive only if the candidate holds a Master´s degree and 10-year work experience in any related sector or sectors such as administration, management, trade, finance, manufacturing, engineering or law. But this provision does not apply if the candidate has served as first class government officer.
In case of board member, the candidate needs to hold a Bachelor´s degree and 10-year work experience.
“Although we have not started discussions on changes that need to be made to the qualifications of candidates, we think certain amendments need to be made to provisions on academic qualification,” the official said. “We will hold discussions in this regard and decide what to do.”
The Board, formed earlier this year through an order issued by Prime Minister Baburam Bhattarai, has the authority to regulate and oversee management of the country´s state-owned enterprises. Recently, it also conducted studies on reform models for Nepal Drugs Limited and Janakpur Cigarette Factory apart from conducting open competitions to recommend names of qualified people for the post of chief executives at public enterprises.
But those who are not happy with the activities of the Board have continued to launch attacks on it. The latest such attack was launched by Ram Chandra Silwal, who moved the apex court demanding issuance of an stay order on the government´s decision to form the Board. The court denied to issue such an order.
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