EDITORIAL - Civil service eligible

There used to be a time when to be described as a "civil service eligible" placed a person a cut above the rest. It meant that that person passed a government-initiated exam that allowed him employment in government, if he or she so desires.

But that was at a time when working for the government did not invite sneers or sarcasm. It was still a dignified calling to serve the public through government service. The pay was not so bad, and earning it honestly was value added.

Last November, the Civil Service Commission conducted yet another civil service exam for 62,389 people. The test was in two levels — professional and sub-professional. Of that number, more than 56,000 examinees flunked the test. Only 6,334 passed, or a dismal 10 percent.

It does not require a mastery of molecular biology or astrophysics to pass a civil service exam. The test includes questions on vocabulary, grammar, correct usage, paragraph organization, reading comprehension, analogy, logic, and numerical reasoning.

Of course the test also includes questions on the Constitution, the Code of conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees, as well as on such concepts as human rights and the environment. But hey, it is not as if the examinees were born dingbats.

But the dismal showing of the infamous 62,389 in a test that is nothing more than a paper and pencil type multiple choice test is not lightning on a clear blue sky. It has been happening with such sickening regularity it is mystifying why we keep on conducting the exams.

In July 2009, a total of 58,985 hopefuls took the professional and sub-professional civil service exams. And the results seemed to follow the same disastrous course. Of that number, only 5,612 passed, or a mere 9.51 percent.

Yet even such humble and humbling outcomes do not inspire much confidence when you know many of those who pass actually failed previously for up to four times before finally scraping through. You would think that maybe God eventually grew tired of seeing the same supplicants.

So, if you wonder why our government is what it is, just remember the great human drama behind each civil service eligibility. But of course some are simply brighter than the others. They know the shortest way to the kitchen is through the backdoor called politics.