Deputy Minister of Home Affairs: 'Leadership exams help select the best people'

14 ministries, central agencies and 22 localities have registered to pilot the recruitment exam for leaders at department, agency and division levels.

At a press conference on June 27, Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Nguyen Duy Thang said that the Ministry has issued guidelines for piloting innovation in the selection of leaders at the department, agency and division levels.

Accordingly, there are currently 14 ministries, central agencies and 22 localities registered to implement the pilot. In addition, other units nationwide, if deemed qualified, can participate in the pilot according to the instructions of the Ministry of Home Affairs.

"The recruitment exam will help ensure transparency and help overcome long-standing shortcomings. However, this pilot project does not replace the personnel work process. Instead, the best personnel will be selected through the recruitment exam among those who meet the criteria," said Mr. Thang.

Mr. Truong Hai Long - Deputy Head of the Department of Civil Servants and Public Employees of the Ministry of Home Affairs, also said that the above-mentioned leadership recruitment exam is not a completely new policy. Previously, a number of ministries and provinces had developed their own pilot projects based on the Resolution on the cadre strategy until 2020. However, during the implementation process, realizing that there was a lack of consistency, the Politburo assigned the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Central Organizing Committee to develop general guidelines nationwide.

"The results of the previous exams remain the same," said Mr. Long.

Candidates taking the exam for the position of Director General of Roads in April 2014. Photo: Doan Loan.

Non-Party members are allowed to take leadership exams if nominated.

Regarding the cases eligible to participate in the leadership exam, the representative of the Ministry of Home Affairs said that they could be personnel within the agency's on-site planning source, or have been planned for equivalent positions in other units.

In addition, according to Mr. Long, in case the personnel are not in the planning, do not work at the unit that needs to be appointed to a selected position and may not be a party member, but are nominated by the collective leadership of the competent authority, they can also participate in the recruitment exam.

"Personnel that are not in the planning or are not party members cannot run for election. However, the competent authority in charge of the appointment position can nominate these people," Mr. Long said, emphasizing that this is one of the new points in the recruitment process.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Duy Thang further clarified that the Ministry of Home Affairs' guidelines have a separate provision for "those nominated to participate in the recruitment". Accordingly, if a nominated person is holding a leadership or management position, he/she can only take part in the recruitment exam for a position immediately higher than the current position. For example, a department head can only apply for the position of Deputy Department Head and equivalent.

In case of not holding a leadership or management position, the candidate must have worked in the industry or field for at least 3 years, and can only apply for the position of deputy head of department.

“During 3 years of work, there may be some colleagues with very good expertise but who have not yet had the conditions to be admitted to the Party, especially in public service units and research institutes, who can still apply for the position of deputy head of department if nominated,” Deputy Minister Thang said.

Delegate Le Thanh Van. Photo: Quochoi

Proposal for recruitment exam from deputy minister level and below

National Assembly Delegate Le Thanh Van - Standing member of the Finance and Budget Committee, supports the implementation of the policy of recruiting leaders, however, according to him, it is necessary to organize recruitment exams for positions from Deputy Minister and below, without limiting personnel within or outside the planning to select the most worthy people.

"I mentioned this issue since the 3rd session of the previous National Assembly, after that the Ministry of Transport pioneered a pilot exam to recruit the position of General Director," Mr. Van said and suggested that the criteria for each position and the recruitment process should be legalized.

"The pilot project of the Ministry of Home Affairs only changes the bottle, not the wine. We must build standards for each position, linked to specific responsibilities, so that anyone who feels incompetent or lacking in morality cannot, does not want to, and does not dare to be an official. Anyone with the authority to appoint and nominate will be afraid of the scythe of the law and tremble, not daring to act rashly," said Mr. Van.

Delegate Luu Binh Nhuong - Standing Member of the Committee on Social Affairs, said that the issue of the pilot project for leadership examinations is to focus on competitiveness and transparency. "If in the past, the selection of cadres was narrow, even kept secret, now the people will be supervised. At that time, the capacity of cadres will be revealed," he said.

According to VNE