Breakthrough in ethnic minority cadre policy

(Baonghean) - Good news for ethnic minorities, especially ethnic minority students, is that last week the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ethnic Committee signed a joint Circular on policies for ethnic minority officials, civil servants and public employees, officially effective from November 1, 2014.

In this Joint Circular, there are many new points to specify the priorities in the ethnic policies of the Party and the State, creating more favorable conditions to ensure the increase in quantity and quality of ethnic minorities in the apparatus of cadres, civil servants and public employees. This Circular opens up great employment opportunities for children of ethnic minorities nationwide, including more than 440,000 ethnic minorities in Nghe An province.

The notable highlight of the Circular is that there will be a separate recruitment exam for ethnic minorities to become civil servants and public employees of each province. This is a step towards synchronous and complete development of the Party and State's preferential policies for ethnic minorities, from education and training to recruitment. Separating into a separate recruitment exam for ethnic minorities is a reasonable and necessary priority. Because the majority of ethnic minorities live mainly in mountainous, remote and isolated areas. These are areas and regions that, although enjoying many preferential policies, still have many difficulties in economic and social life, high poverty rates, learning and training opportunities as well as the ability to develop themselves cannot be compared to those in the plains and urban areas.

Therefore, organizing a separate recruitment exam will certainly create a better mentality and attitude for the majority of candidates. At the same time, it is also an opportunity for candidates in the same region to have equal competition. The ethnic minority children themselves, although given priority, still have to strive to improve if they want to have good results. Because, although they do not have to face somewhat unbalanced competition as in general recruitment, when participating in a separate recruitment exam for ethnic minorities, candidates in the same exam still have to compete. Therefore, implementing a separate exam not only demonstrates the priority policy, but also ensures equal competition between members of the same ethnic minority group.

The second notable point of this Joint Circular is the proportion of ethnic minority cadres, civil servants and public employees participating in agencies and units in the political system at all levels, from the central to the commune and town levels; priority planning and appointment of ethnic minority cadres, civil servants and public employees is clearly stipulated. This proportion will be based on the socio-economic orientation and needs of each locality, implemented through annual recruitment periods. This is the basis to ensure the increase in the quantity and quality of ethnic minorities in the apparatus of civil servants, public employees and officials. In fact, although many preferential policies have been implemented regularly and continuously, the proportion of ethnic minorities in the contingent of cadres, civil servants and public employees is still low. Even in some agencies specializing in ethnic affairs and implementing policies for ethnic minorities, the participation of ethnic minorities is still not really guaranteed in both quantity and quality.

Another new point of the Circular is that the candidates for recruitment after graduation will be assigned to work without having to take the civil service exam. This is a breakthrough in the preferential policy for ethnic minorities in the work of introducing, training and using local human resources after being sent for training. This decision is a big step forward in implementing the preferential policy for ethnic minorities, and will be an important and positive encouragement for students trained under the recruitment program. Because in reality, many students who are recruited, even though they have graduated from university or college, still do not have jobs.

Right in our province, many districts have dozens of unemployed students. In Ky Son alone, in 2013, 13 students graduated without stable jobs. This has affected the recruitment policy - a humane policy, showing the attention and priority of the Party and State for ethnic minorities, to some extent. Therefore, the fact that students are assigned jobs after graduation, without having to go through recruitment exams, or in other words, being recruited directly, is really a necessary decision to promptly resolve the shortcomings that the recruitment policy is posing.

However, for this Circular to come into life and promote positive values, everything is still ahead. When implementing priority policies, there are often individuals who take advantage of the priority for common development to "prioritize" themselves and gain personal benefits. Therefore, on the basis of the Joint Circular of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ethnic Committee on policies for cadres, civil servants and public employees with ethnic minorities, Party committees and authorities at all levels must pay attention and do better in planning, training and recruiting ethnic minority cadres based on actual needs; according to the motto: creating cadre sources through training, screening through grassroots movements...

It can be affirmed that the issuance of the Joint Circular by the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ethnic Committee on policies for ethnic minority cadres, civil servants and public employees is an important event on the occasion of the Provincial Ethnic Minority Congress, towards the National Ethnic Minority Congress!

Ngo Kien