The public service is organized into two cadres, the generalist cadre and the specialist cadre. Under the generalist cadre we have the administrative class, executive class, clerical class and operative class.
GENERALIST CLASS
They are literate, mostly first degree holders. They are not specialist rather they get experience more as they work while specialist cadre are mostly expert in their duties such as doctors and engineers.
ADMINISTRATIVE CLASS
This is one of the most important classes in civil service. They take most of the decision in civil service; they are graduates and the leaders in public service. They are also experienced. The administrative class includes-
- Secretary to the government of the federation in the federal service, Heads of the civil service state, they give advice to the governor.
- A permanent secretary in the ministries- before officer is made permanent secretary he should be an administrative officer. Every ministry have a permanent secretary, before an officer is made permanent secretary he must have reached level 15. In every ministry you have permanent secretary and commissioner; they oversee all the mails that come into the office.
- Director- each department in the ministry is headed by a director. The departments headed by a director are as follows- finance and account department, administrative department, internal audit department, public relation department, education service department, civil culture and moral department. Before you can become a director you must reach level 16 in the civil service.
- Deputy director- grade level 15
- Chief administrative officer- grade level 14
- Assistant chief administrative officer- grade level 13
- Principal administrative officer- grade level 12
- Senior administrative officer- grade level 10
- Administrative officer 1- grade level 09
- Administrative officer 2- grade level 08
ROLES OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE CLASS
- They are concerned with the general administration and responsible for the implementation of government decision.
- They deal with important business of the government.
- They are government adviser i.e. they give advice to the political members of the government especially the ministers and the commissioners.
EXECUTIVE CLASS
They work under the administrative officers, their duties are of general nature, they don’t perform professional duties and they receive information from the administrative class. Under the executive class we have executive officer (General Duties) executive officer (Account). Executive officers are normally ranked from rank 06 to grade level 14. The people found here are people with OND and HND.
Executive Officers (General Duties)
- Assistant executive officer- AEO grade level 06
- Executive officer- EO grade level 07
- Higher executive officer- HEO grade level 08
- Senior executive officer- SEO grade level 09
- Principal executive officer 2- PEO2 grade level 10
- Principal executive officer 1- PEO1 grade level 12
- Assistant chief executive officer- ACEO grade level 13
- Chief executive officer- CEO grade level 14
Executive Officer (Account) they are the same with executive officer general duties.
ROLES OF THE EXECUTIVE CLASS
- They play subordinate role to the administrative class.
- They carry out the day to day directive of the administrative class.
- They make input to the policy formulation of the government.
- They advice the administrative and professional class
- They tech new entrants the art of minute writing because they are experienced and therefore powerful in minute writing.
CLERICAL CLASS
They are officers that deal with particular cases in accordance with well defined regulations, instruction and general writing. These people are not that literate; they are officer with WAEC qualification, NECO, GCE, and Grade Level 04. CONPRO- Confirmation and Promotion-these are exams taken by clerical officer before promotion.
ROLES OF CLERICAL OFFICERS
The works of clerical officer are spread extensively such as-
- Writing memos
- Filing
- Receiving mails
- Sorting of mails
- Registry of mails
- Dispatch of such mails
OPERATIVE CLASS
These are made up of manual labour force or manipulative class who service the machinery of the government such as cleaners, gardeners, messengers in the office, security men’s. Their highest qualification is first school leaving certificate and terminal is grade level 04.
ROLES OF OPERATIVE CLASS
- Maintenance of government machinery
- Clearing of government environment
- Driving top officials with official vehicle
- Taking care of government properties.
SPECIALIST CLASS
In the public service members of the specialist class are employed on professional bases. They are trained in higher institutions in professional fields, they are professional civil servants, and this includes accountants and engineers.
Administrative Department
Promotion unit and section
Appointment unit
Records unit
Training unit
General Service unit
Registry unit
Establishment unit
Recommended:
- Basic Rules of Appointment of Personnel into the Public Service
- Comparative Public Administration
- Development Administration