The current civil servant assessment system is not at all optimistic, as most ministries, departments and services not only continue to deviate from its provisions but blatantly violate it, public service commission president George Papageorgiou said on Monday.

Presenting his commission’s report for 2024 after handing a copy of it to President Nikos Christodoulides, Papageorgiou said all civil servants were evaluated as “excellent”.

Civil servant evaluations were among the issues included in the report.

Papageorgiou said the average marks in 2024 were 9.01 points out of ten, while for 2023 they were 8.74, with the exception of the deputy shipping ministry, the information services department and the press and information office, where the system was being used properly.

According to Papageorgiou, those conducting the evaluations – although trained to do so – had apparently not fully understood their responsibility, reverting to “outdated mentalities”.

Papageorgiou referred to the process of reforms, saying his commission had worked through 2024 to promote all necessary actions so they could be effectively implemented.

Earlier on Monday, Christodoulides said every reform promoted faces great challenges and causes reactions and “this is to be expected”.

Receiving the report, Christodoulides said his meeting with the commission’s president was “particularly important” as it gave them the opportunity to discuss “some aspects of the civil service reforms” yet to be implemented.

“We must not be dogmatic, we must evaluate the reforms, see where there are problems, distortions and make corrections all the more, because the purpose of the reforms was to improve a state of affairs and, especially when it comes to the civil service, to address an impression held by the public,” the president added.

He said “important work and significant progress” had been made compared with the previous situation.

The reforms, he added, “have not yet been implemented for us to make a comprehensive evaluation”.

Handing over his report, Papageorgiou said the past year had been of crucial importance regarding the method by which civil servants were hired, especially in senior positions.

Speaking later, he said the project for the establishment procedures and set up of an examination centre for the Cyprus public service commission, funded by the European Commission, had been successfully completed.

The commission convened 221 times in 2024 and examined 3,113 issues, more than half of which were for filling posts. Papageorgiou said 1,014 positions were filled, of which 613 were appointments and 401 promotions.

It also interviewed 840 candidates, compared to 750 in 2023.

Papageorgiou also referred to the profile of civil servants, most of whom he said held university degrees, with 77 per cent of degree holders being employed in positions that did not require such qualifications.

In 2024, Papageorgiou said, 64 per cent of civil servants were women and 36 per cent men, with women holding most of the senior positions.

He explained that in middle management positions, men accounted for 46 per cent and women for 54 per cent, and in managerial positions the percentage of men was 45 per cent and women 55 per cent.

Regarding age, only 7.23 per cent were aged 18 to 34, with 67 per cent between the ages of 35 and 54 and 25.76 per cent over 55.

Papageorgiou said changes in the way civil servants filled senior positions had changed after 2022, with new regulations in legislation, placing emphasis on the skills and abilities of candidates.