PSC has clarified its stance on the backlogs and the measures it has taken to remove the problems heaved over the last several years in holding BCS examinations retains merits. It has postponed the preliminary examination of the 47th BCS shifting its original date from June 27 to 8 August 2025.
Responding to the repeated demands of the job seekers, PSC has decided to defer the examination. Despite the rescheduling of 47th BCS preliminary exam, the written examination of the 46th BCS will proceed as planned and begin on May 8, as per the previous announcement.
The circular for the 47th BCS was published in 2024 planning to recruit 3,487 cadre and 201 non-cadre officials where around 400,000 candidates initially vied for those positions.
The BCS examinations experience a backlog of four exams with some processes dragging on for over three years. The 44th, 45th, and 46th BCS exams were initiated under the former Awami League government whose final results and recruitment have not yet been done. The 47th BCS circular, the latest, was issued in November last year.
We know that the interim government has formed a `Public Administration Reform Commission’ which has submitted a report to the government recommending that the entire BCS process — from examination to recruitment — be completed within 18 months.
According to the proposal, exams should be concluded within the first 12 months, followed by six months for publishing final results and completing recruitment. The newly employed PSC officials aim to complete each BCS cycle within a year to clear the backlog that we cannot but appreciate.
PSC has been trying it level best to untie the knot developed in conducting 44th,45th and 46 the BCS examinations. According to its latest decision, the examination on compulsory subjects of 46th BCS exam will be held between 8-19 May while position related subjects will start from the last week of June with the completion date by 7 July 2025.
The Viva-Voce exam for the candidates who qualified in the written test in 46th BCS exam during the Viva-Voce of 44th BCS exam to be held from 22 April to 19 May. And this viva-voce will be held after 16 June and will be tried to complete within the shortest possible time.
And the final results of the 44th BCS examination is expected to be published by June 2025. Also, the results of the written exam of 45 BCS will be published by June 2025.
The PSC has to depend on other organizations for printing questions, selecting examination centres and for some other purposes/areas. The candidates and concerned are requested to go through the messages of PSC website to get the genuine message.
Generally, three to four lakh applicants participate in a preliminary examination. Out of these, 10 to 12 thousand pass the written examination, and after the viva (oral) examination, a final list is made for recruitment against the vacant posts.
For this, the commission has also decided to set an annual calendar for the preliminary, written, oral and psychological tests to be held during the year. That must be a smart decision.
When the Public Service Commission (PSC) has issued the notification for the 47th BCS exam, a section of the applicants from previous three other batches started movement demanding the postponement of the exam. Thus, the upcoming 47th BCS exam was now in uncertainty and in response to this uncertainly, PSC has clarified its points.
The PSC published the 46th BCS circular seeking applications for 3,140 posts. Of the posts, the highest number will be recruited in the health care. About 338,000 candidates have applied for the positions.
The activities of the 44th BCS have not been completed even after four years, while the written examination of the 45th BCS was completed 15 months ago; but the results have not been published. Thus the activities of the four BCS exams from the 44th to the 47th are in a mess.
Controversy has also arisen over the results of the 46th BCS preliminary. PSC has resolved to expedite the publication of the preliminary exam results and schedule the written test promptly to mitigate the setback incurred by its postponement.
The commission has decided to hold the preliminary examination on April 26. Additionally, the," he said. The 46th BCS preliminary exam was earlier scheduled to be held on March 9 this year. The PSC also issued a notification in this regard.
However, the date of the examination was changed due to the city corporation elections. Candidates’ protesting in front of the PSC demanding the postponement of the examination does not show a good sign as a handful of candidates’ demand does not necessarily reflect most candidates’ desire and demand.
Postponing any one exam will have an impact on every subsequent exam. Where there are many vacancies in government jobs, postponing the exam will mean increasing the uncertainty of job seekers.
Therefore, we expected that PSC would be adamant about the exam schedule. However, considering some practical reasons such as clearing the previous exams, selecting the deserving candidates through a series of screening process must be completed before floating advertisement of new BCS examination. It tends to relieve the candidates’ tension, save time and ease the hassle.
We cannot afford to forget that BCS is a competitive exam. It does not mean that a course to be completed and then an examination should be held to assess the course. It does not also mean that some teachers of an institution are morally obliged to complete a course and they cannot conduct the exam without completing it.
When the case and purpose of BCS examination proves different, we should not bow down us before any hasty or differently motivated demand of the candidates just like the students of SSC and HSC exams who want to change their dates of exam, want auto promotion and have any examination based on short syllabus.
From time and again, media unfolds the reports of incompetencies of our public servants in various sectors that actually originates from the faulty recruitment system along with the touch of corruption in the form of question leakage and so-called quota system. We do believe that the current PSC setup would take pragmatic and honest steps to save PSC from these allegations.
Writer: Former Teacher of Cadet College