Building a culture of ethics within Bangladesh’s bureaucracy requires more than laws or policy directives. It demands practical and structural reform.
First, ethics and public service values must form the core of administrative training. Currently, institutions such as the Bangladesh Public Administration Training Centre (BPATC) and the Public Service Academy emphasize laws, regulations, and administrative procedures, but give little attention to ethical decision-making.
In the UK, civil service training includes a mandatory Ethical Leadership module, where officials discuss real-life moral dilemmas, such as how to uphold correct decisions under political pressure. Similarly, South Korea’s Anti-Corruption and Civil Rights Commission (ACRC) organises regular ethics workshops for public officials, institutionalising lessons in personal integrity, public interest, and ethical leadership.
If similar training initiatives were introduced in Bangladesh, it could gradually help reshape the mindset of bureaucrats toward integrity-driven and service-oriented governance.
Second, transparency and accountability must be strengthened through institutional reforms. Officials should be evaluated based on integrity, efficiency, and public service standards, removing political influence from promotions, transfers, and performance assessments. Singapore’s civil service can serve as an example, where despite high salaries, every decision is transparent, and a strict “zero tolerance” policy against corruption is effectively enforced.
Through the implementation of Whistleblower Protection Laws, officials can be encouraged to safely report misconduct, as has been done in South Korea and the United States. At the same time, launching e-governance and open data platforms can ensure citizen access to information and participation. India’s RTI Online and Estonia’s e-government model are successful examples of this approach.