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Civic Education Notes

PUBLIC SERVICE IN A DEMOCRACY

Public service is a term used to mean services provided by government to the citizens.  Public service as a unit of government is responsible for running of daily activities, policy formulation and implementation as well as playing advisory role.  They are called ministries and is headed by Ministers or commissioners.

They served as both political and Executive Head.

The structure of the civil service

  1. Administrative class: Principal officers, permanent secretaries etc
  2. The executive class: They are executive officers, running daily affairs
  3. The professional class: Lawyers, Doctors, Engineers etc.
  4. The clerical class: Clerks, typist, clerical Assistant – GCE holders
  5. Messengerial Class: Messengers, cleaners, Drivers etc

They drive official cars and deliver official messages.

Problems of Public service in Nigeria

  1. Colonial influence
  2. Bribery and corruption
  3. Inconsistence in Government policy
  4. Bureaucratic Red-tapism
  5. Ethnicity, Nepotism and Favoritism
  6. Non-chalant attitude towards work

Ways of improving the public service in Nigeria

  1. Civil servants must abstain from party politics
  2. Observation of official secrecy
  3. Employment and promotion by merit
  4. Working condition in the civil service should be improved upon to attract brilliant graduate
  5. Controlled by public service commission.

Characteristics of Politics service

  1. Permanence
  2. Bureaucracy
  3. Political neutrality
  4. Impartiality
  5. Expertise
  6. Anonymity etc

Assignment

  1. Describe five problems facing Nigeria Public service
  2. Describe the ways of improving public service in Nigeria.
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