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Civil servants to get incentives to upgrade English

The government is offering incentives to encourage civil servants to improve their English as part of efforts to enhance the nation's competitive edge, it was reported yesterday.

The Central Personnel Administration announced Saturday that from Thursday, more than 230,000 civil servants would get extra performance credits if they pass different levels of the General English Proficiency Test or seven other English tests.

The degree of credits would depend on the levels of tests they pass, the United Daily News and Liberty Times reported. The credits would improve promotion prospects.

"Hopefully before the end of 2006, at least 30 percent of civil servants could pass the first-level tests [English skills equivalent to junior high school graduates]," said Central Personnel Administration chief Chang Chun-yen (張俊彥).

Supporters of the scheme said it would help enhance English skills but opponents said civil servants may give priority to such skills rather than their jobs.
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