The number of contractual appointments to top administrative posts has reached an all-time high, reportedly slowing the pace of work across ministries and fuelling frustration among regular officials, according to insiders in the public administration.

This growing trend has hindered promotion prospects for regular cadre officers, thereby dampening morale and reducing work efficiency across various ministries, they said.

Officials in several ministries told TheDailyCountryToday that many of the appointees had long been out of public service, and their sudden return after seven to eight years has disrupted workflow, as they often struggle to adapt to the current operational environment.

This has also contributed to rising tensions between regular staff and contract appointees.

According to the Ministry of Public Administration, there are currently 84 posts equivalent to secretaries or senior secretaries.

Of these, 17 officials, including the Cabinet Secretary and Principal Secretary to the Chief Adviser, are serving on a contractual basis, a number unprecedented in Bangladesh’s administrative history, said several officials.Twelve officials with the rank of secretary or senior secretary are currently posted as Officers on Special Duty (OSD).The total number of OSDs in the entire administration, however, has surpassed 500, creating an additional financial burden for the government.

Officials currently serving on contract include: Cabinet Secretary Sheikh Abdur Rashid; Principal Secretary to the Chief Adviser M Siraj Uddin Mia; Home Secretary Nasimul Gani; Planning Commission Member (Senior Secretary) MA Akmal Hossain Azad; Public Administration Senior Secretary Md Mokhlesur Rahman; Roads and Highways Division Senior Secretary Md Ehshanul Haque; Election Commission Senior Secretary Akhtar Ahmed; Expatriates’ Welfare Ministry Senior Secretary Md Neyamat Ullah Bhuiyan; Land Ministry Senior Secretary ASM Saleh Ahmed; Secondary and Higher Education Division Senior Secretary Siddique Zobair; Shipping Ministry Senior Secretary Mohammad Yusuf; and Women and Children Affairs Ministry Senior Secretary Momtaz Ahmed.

Besides, ICT Secretary Shish Haider Chowdhury, Land Reform Board Chairman AJM Salauddin Nagari, Planning Commission Member Kayyum Ara Begum, Alternate Executive Director at the World Bank Sharifa Khan, and Ambassador to Portugal Md Mahfuzul Haque are all serving on contract.

Senior officials at the Ministry of Public Administration told UNB that many top-level officers had been kept as OSDs for years during the long tenure of the Awami League government, often sidelined for political reasons.Many were denied promotions, creating a backlog of deserving officers.Following the regime change, several of these sidelined officials were reinstated through contractual appointments.

They added that numerous top bureaucrats aligned with the previous government were either sent into forced retirement or made OSDs after the interim government assumed power.ABM Abdus Sattar, president of the Anti-Discrimination Employees Unity Forum and a former secretary, said the administration is “crumbling under the burden of contractual appointments.”

He said the current government has continued the trend set by what he termed the “fascist regime,” even reappointing some of the same individuals it had initially dismissed.

“In some cases, appointments have been made without following any due process—sometimes even to foreign nationals or controversial officials aligned with the 1/11 government,” he said.

Former secretary AKM Abdul Awal Majumder said excessive contractual appointments discourage officers aspiring to be promoted through the regular track.

He also strongly criticised the OSD system, saying, “No other country has such a wasteful mechanism. It’s a massive burden on the state exchequer, as hundreds of officers draw full salaries without any responsibilities.”

Currently, 12 officers holding the rank of secretary or senior secretary are OSDs, including: Md Mostafa Kamal, Md Mashiur Rahman, Md Manzur Hossain, Md Shamsul Arefin, Mohammad Salah Uddin, Md Azizur Rahman, Md Nurul Alam, Md Khairul Alam Sheikh, Farid Uddin Ahmed, Rehana Parvin, Shafiul Azim, and AKM Matiur Rahman.

In January, the interim government also took action against deputy commissioners and police superintendents who had served in the controversial 2014, 2018, and 2024 elections under the Awami League regime.

On 19 January, 33 such officials were made OSDs, while 22 were sent into forced retirement the following day due to their extended service record.

According to the recruitment and promotion wing of the Ministry of Public Administration, many officers were labelled as BNP-Jamaat sympathisers during the Awami League’s rule and kept as OSDs for years without any specific charges.

Some were even forced into retirement in silence.

The previous government routinely prioritised political considerations over merit when granting contractual extensions, often as a reward for loyalty.