Importance of Training
The Chief Commissioners' conference ended with the MOS making a fervent appeal that the training should be given due importance and not treated as a dumping ground. Was there any indication of these lofty goals in the transfer orders issued immediately after the conference?
In the famous Z. B. Nagarkar case, the Supreme Court observed,
“there is a charge of mis-conduct against the Collector of Central Excise. While the disciplinary proceedings are pending against him he was transferred to National Academy of Customs, Excise & Narcotics to guide the probationers. It is certainly a paradoxical situation that a man who is not fit to hold the post of Collector is fit enough to impart training to the probationers entering the service. Best talents should be sent to the academy to teach the probationers. Posting to the academy should be considered as an honour and not punishment”.
It is nearly ten years since the Hon'ble Supreme Court gave this sage advice and the honourable MOS has expressed the same feelings to the Chief Commissioners. But does anybody ever consider these sentiments while making transfers. Officers are posted to NACEN not because they are good for training but mostly because they are not wanted in the field.
The future of the department is shaped in the hallowed portals of NACEN and we cannot afford to take risks with posting incompetent and unwanted officers in the academy. If a doctor fails, a patient may collapse; if an engineer fails, a bridge may collapse; if a teacher fails, a whole generation collapses.