National Administration Examination (Menghe)
The National Administration Examination (Menghean: 전국 행정 시험 / 全國行政試驗, Jŏnguk Haengjŏng Sihŏm), also known as the Cadre Application Test (간부 신청 고시 / 幹部申請考試, Ganbu Sinjŏng Gosi), is a nationwide competitive examination in the Socialist Republic of Menghe. It is used to filter candidates for application to a range of government offices, including not only the civil service but also local executive posts at the town and county/city/district levels.
Applicants who pass the exam and are granted government posts also receive the status of cadre, which allows the government to track their job performance and manage their promotion. From that point onward, meritocracy takes the form of holistic performance-based promotions rather than standardized measures of intelligence.
Precursor
Main article: Imperial examination
Today's National Administration Examination is often compared to the Imperial Examination (과거 / 科擧, Gwagŏ), which originated during the Meng dynasty. From the Sunghwa dynasty onward, the Imperial Examination was the main route to administrative office in Menghe: only individuals who attained a sufficiently high degree could be appointed to administrative positions, regardless of their bloodline or military prowess.
The Imperial Examination focused mainly on the applicant's literary knowledge, and in particular their knowledge of political philosophy, though the exact contents varied over its many centuries in existence. It was meant to gather the most capable officials possible, though during the late Sunghwa and Myŏn dynasties widespread cheating and corruption undermined its rigor. Some modern political scientists and historians contend that the examination was highly imperfect as a meritocratic tool, but it did ensure that the country's elite maintained a common language and literary culture, and offered a way for wealthy merchants outside the political elite to seek inclusion.
After the fall of the Myŏn dynasty, the Sinŭi and Namyang factions both reduced the number of posts filled through the examination system, with Sinŭi leaders in particular ridiculing it as anachronistic and outdated. The Federal Republic of Menghe, formed in 1900, abolished it entirely, though it did re-institute Western-style examinations for some civil service agencies in 1911.
History
Today's National Application Examination was established in 1994 as the National Civil Service Entrance Examination (전국 공무원 시험 / 全國公務員試驗, Jŏnguk Gongmuwŏn Sihŏm), as part of a state campaign to improve the quality of the civil service. At the time, relatively few agencies and job titles required applicants to take the examination, which was mainly oriented toward professional staff in the Ministry of the Economy and its subordinate bodies.
Over the course of the 1990s, however, the number of civil service jobs filled through examination steadily increased. Choe Sŭng-min was a particularly strong proponent of expanding the examination system, and in 2002 the National Assembly passed a law making examination success mandatory for all officials entering local-level executive posts at the County level and above. To reflect this expanded role, it was renamed as the National Administration Examination.
Subsequent reforms continued to expand the number of posts requiring applicants to take the examination, making it mandatory for town- and village-level executives in 2007. Many administrative units below the Provincial level, especially in wealthier and more urbanized parts of the country, have developed their own examination system to screen local civil service applicants.
Other reforms over time affected the content of the exam. The initial 1994 examination was structured essentially as an IQ test, reflecting its restriction to technocrats in the economic policymaking sphere. During the mid-2000s, scholars and reformers began to complain that the skills prioritized in the test were not always relevant to the skills necessary in policymaking, especially in local executive posts. To remedy this problem, the Department of Examination and Promotion revised test content to better assess applicants' emotional intelligence and linguistic intelligence, with major changes implemented in 2011 and 2015. In both cases, changes to test content were lagged one year after initial approval, to give applicants enough time to study for the revised structure.
Administration
In 1996, the Menghean government established a special body, the Directorate for Cadre Evaluation (간부 평가 사무실 / 幹部評價事務室, Ganbu Pyŏngga Samusil) to oversee the process of selecting and promoting cadre-rank officials. Part of its job is to write exam questions, organize the annual test-taking session, and oversee the test-taking and grading process.
Process
Every year, the national government publishes a list of upcoming entry-level vacancies in civil service and administrative posts. Applicants can then select one or more positions for which they would like to apply, or indicate one of several broader categories and regions, such as "resource management jobs in Taehwa" or "tax assessment jobs in Haeju." Posts which received few applications in the past, usually those in rural areas, are specially marked to advertise them as less competitive.
The Directorate for Cadre Evaluation then screens applications to remove any who don't meet the eligibility requirements. Those who pass this round are assigned a serial number and a test-taking location, and can begin to study - though most have started studying already.
The exam itself takes place in the third week of October. Scores are released the following December. Finalists are summoned to in-person job interviews during January through March, and final decisions are made on or before April 1st; those who are accepted generally begin on-site training in May, or later in the summer if they are still completing a tertiary degree. If a given position does not receive any qualified applications, the exam grading service will send out offers to candidates who narrowly missed the threshold at the positions they applied to but may still be qualified for the open post. This process may be repeated several times until all posts are filled.
Applicants who pass the examination can only move directly into government jobs up to and including fourth-level executives (i.e., Major, County Head, and District Director). Above that level, they must have prior experience in government. Indeed, once they are accepted into a job, exam-tested employees are granted status as cadres. From that point onward, their promotion is based on assessments of on-the-job performance, which vary from post to post and region to region.
Eligibility
In order to take the National Administration Examination and be considered for a Cadre-level post, applicants must meet all of the following qualifications:
- Applicants must be a citizen of Menghe, or on track to receive citizenship prior to taking the examination.
- Applicants must hold a bachelor's degree (or equivalent) from a domestic institution or domestically accredited foreign institution, or must be on track to receive one before starting work. If an applicant passes the exam but is unable to complete their degree, the offer is revoked.
- Applicants must have a clean criminal record, except for minor offenses such as littering or parking violations.
- If called up for military service, applicants must have completed the required service term or been honorably discharged.
- Applicants may not currently hold cadre status.
- Applicants are not allowed to take the examination more than five times.
Age limits are somewhat more complex, and can vary with an individual's status in other areas. Generally, the entrance examination is limited to younger candidates, as subsequent promotion from that point onward can take years. All age limits are based on an individual's standard age rather than their age in full years. Because a bachelor's degree is required for all posts, in practice most applicants are 23 or older when they become eligible to take the exam, 25 or older if they were conscripted.
Minimum age at time of examination:
- 19 for non-executive positions
- 24 for executive positions
Maximum age at time of examination:
- 35 for applicants with a bachelor's degree or equivalent
- 37 for applicants with a master's degree or equivalent
- 43 for applicants with a doctoral degree or equivalent
Content
The grueling examination lasts for a total of six hours, and covers a wide range of subjects. It is divided into three multiple-choice sections (logical reasoning, administrative knowledge, and qualitative thought) and three essays. The intent of the exam is not to generate an abstract measure of overall intelligence per se, but to assess a candidate's ability in specific realms that may be relevant to their future work.
The NEA is conducted entirely in Menghean, the country's national language, even for applicants from linguistic minority groups. Individuals applying for lower-level civil service posts in Menghe's four southwestern Semi-Autonomous Provinces receive a modified essay section, and must complete one essay in Menghean and two in the regional language of their destination agency, regardless of their own native language.
Logical reasoning
The logical reasoning section is designed to test an applicant's ability to recognize patterns, classify information, and engage in deductive reasoning, all under a tight time constraint (with 55 questions in one hour, only about one minute is available for each question). In a typical question, applicants are given a series of shapes or diagrams and asked which additional item from a list would fit the pattern. In psychological terms, this section tests an applicant's fluid intelligence or logical-mathematical intelligence.
Scores on the logical reasoning section are most important when applying for data-heavy jobs in the civil service, such as economic policymaking and resource management. They are also taken into account when screening candidates for administrative posts, albeit with less weight.
Administrative knowledge
The administrative knowledge section presents the applicant with a range of multiple-choice questions related to history, law, political science, and political economy, among others. Complementing the Logical Reasoning section, it measures a specific form of crystallized intelligence. It ensures that the applicant has an adequate depth of background knowledge on Menghe's political and economic system, and understands the likely consequences of government policies.
Qualitative thought
The qualitative thought section, separated from the administrative knowledge section in 2015, is designed to test an applicant's ability to process written information. Typical questions might ask the respondent to identify the main argument of a written article, organize sentences in the correct order to form a well-structured paragraph, or process a logical question in written rather than symbolic form.
Because its content overlaps with the essays, the qualitative thought section is shorter than the other two, and may be weighted less depending on one's intended position.
Essays
After completing the multiple-choice section, the applicant must write three essays, each in response to an assigned prompt. The content of the prompts varies based on the type of position an individual is applying for. For those applying to be a County Head, one of the prompts relates to a particular issue the rest of the County leadership has identified - for example, desertification on farmland or inequality between villages. This essay is reviewed both by the Directorate for Cadre Evaluation and the rest of the County leadership.
The essays are designed to measure a combination of the skills listed above. As on the administrative knowledge section, applicants should be able to identify evidence from their own memory to support their writing, and should be able to assess the likely consequences of a given policy. They should also demonstrate strong logical and analytical skills.
Perhaps most importantly, the essays measure an applicant's writing ability, but not in terms of prose or eloquence. High-scoring applicants must be able to articulate an idea clearly and concisely; anticipate possible counter-arguments; and think about an issue from multiple points of view, objectively weighing the advantages and disadvantages of a given option rather than relentlessly pressing for a single answer. Some psychologists and political scientists have classified this as an attempt to measure linguistic intelligence and the thought processes associated with it. Indeed, fluent essays are especially important for candidates applying to executive office.
Interviews
Interviews are conducted several months after the examination, usually in the spring of the following year. Given the sheer number of applicants, interviews are only extended to five or six finalists for each job opening. The interview is conducted by a board of seven officials, four from the destination agency and three provided by the Directorate for Cadre Evaluation. Interviewers are required to recuse themselves if they have any personal connection with the interviewee, even something as minor as having met them at a conference. Interviewers who are later found to have had a conflict of interest can lose their jobs and face heavy fines.
Because the examination itself has already demonstrated an applicant's knowledge and thought process, the main purpose of the interview is to assess their personality. As with the examination itself, the most valued traits vary based on the position in question; interpersonal skills, for example, matter more for local executive officials than they do for economic analysts. At a shared level, however, the Directorate for Cadre Evaluation recommends that all entering cadres:
- Cooperate well with others and manage disagreement productively;
- Possess a deep interest in the subject matter of their position;
- Demonstrate a strong intrinsic motivation to perform well and meet expectations;
- Be able to recognize their own errors and shortcomings, in order to control and overcome them;
- Maintain a composed and respectful tone and appearance, even when under pressure;
- Consider issues from multiple points of view and make objective, detached assessments; and
- Feel loyalty and commitment toward the country, its people, and its upper leadership.
As on the essays, applicants for leading cadre positions might also be quizzed on specific issues in the administrative unit where they hope to serve, in order to ensure that they are familiar with local conditions. This step favors locals for lower-level administrative posts, though it has also produced a phenomenon of outside applicants intensely studying a distant county or town in the hopes of winning entry there.
Traits such as these also surface repeatedly in training programs for cadres who have already been accepted into office, and play an increasingly important role in their on-the-job assessment and promotion. While civil service jobs in Menghe are usually relatively stable in order to allow accumulated experience and foster a stronger espirit de corps, cadres who persistently show a lack of motivation or frequently come into conflict with others may be demoted, sent to low-ranked positions, or in extreme cases stripped of their cadre status.
Statistics
In March 2017, over 760,000 applicants took the National Administration Examination, competing for 18,369 positions - an average ratio of 41 applications per open post. The most popular position, reception officer at the Ministry of Public Health, drew 1,480 applications alone. Overall, more than 97% of applications were turned down, reflecting the intensely competitive nature of the NAE and the high value placed on civil service jobs. Both the number of open posts and the number of applicants have steadily increased since the mid-2000s, while the acceptance rate has remained relatively constant.
Assessment
The Menghean examination system for government officials has drawn praise from advocates for meritocratic models of government. Leinard Lebb, a Columbian political theorist who teaches at Donggyŏng Central University, argues that the "Menghean model" overcomes many of the shortcomings of electoral democracy by ensuring that politicians possess both the general intelligence and social skills necessary to fulfill their roles in office. The post-2015 version of the examination has also drawn praise from some psychologists for its effort to distinguish between different types of intelligence and identify the traits most valued for each job.
Less enthusiastic supporters, especially those in the political economy field, have focused more on the examination system's implications for Menghe's civil service. At the beginning of the reform period in 1988, Menghe inherited a disorganized and demoralized bureaucracy, with low pay, severe personnel shortages, and a lack of non-Marxist economists. Since then, the Menghean civil service has seen steady improvements in morale, rationality, and professionalism, and the country's central agencies among the best in the world in terms of their quality.
The examination system also limits the effects of politicized promotion and factional infighting: even if cadre promotion were entirely based on personal connections, at minimum political appointees will display a basic level of competence. This forms a stark contrast to the Ryŏ Ho-jun era, when factory workers or Communist ideologues with little understanding of policy where frequently shuttled into the government.
Most critics, by contrast, focus on the question of whether the qualities emphasized in the exam actually align with those required of a good leader. Especially before the test revisions in 2011 and 2015, the content tended to focus overwhelmingly on rote memorization and mathematical-logical skills, which may not be most important to political competence. At a more fundamental level, the National Examination System is inherently undemocratic, barring ordinary citizens from political office at all levels except the village, Gacha, and block, where leaders have the lowest degree of autonomy.