Half of directors who sat for permanent secretary qualifying exam failed – HoS

Half of the directors, representing 19 out of 38 shortlisted for the position of permanent secretaries in the Federal Civil Service have failed the qualifying examination.

The exams, designed to qualify the candidates for the higher position in the service were written on Monday, November 11, 2024.

This is contained in a memo signed by Dr Emmanuel Meribole on behalf of the examination committee and published on Tuesday by the Office of the Head of Civil Service of the Federation (OHCSF).

Recall that in October, the Federal Government through the OHCSF initiated the process of selecting new permanent secretaries to fill vacancies in eight states.

Providing an update on the ongoing process, the Director of Press at OHCSF, Eno Olotu, disclosed that half of the shortlisted candidates failed to scale through the first hurdle, while the successful candidates have moved to the next stage.

“Of the 38 eligible directors who sat for the exam, 19 have passed the first stage and will move on to the second stage, which will assess their competency in using Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in government operations on Wednesday, November 13, 2024,” he said.

Qualifying exam set in three stages

Olotu stressed that the recruitment process follows a rigorous, three-stage procedure designed to ensure only the most qualified candidates are selected.

Successful candidates from the second stage will have the chance to sit for the final stage slated for Friday, November 15, 2024. 

They will be grilled by a panel of top bureaucrats and private sector representatives for the final hurdle.