The publication of gazettes for the 45th, 46th and 49th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations remains pending despite the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) having issued its final recommendations.
Although considerable time has passed since the PSC completed the recruitment process, recommended candidates have yet to receive their final appointments.
The primary reason for the delay has been the slow pace of police verification. As the process has remained pending for an extended period, frustration and uncertainty among successful candidates have intensified. The government, however, is working to complete all verification procedures and publish the final gazettes by August.
State minister for Public Administration Abdul Bari recently confirmed the matter. He said all relevant agencies and departments are working intensively to complete the verification process as quickly as possible.
According to him, all verification work is expected to be completed by August, assuring candidates that their prolonged and difficult wait will not continue much longer.
Candidates face financial and personal hardship
Under the normal recruitment process, verification begins after the PSC’s recommendation documents reach the Ministry of Public Administration. The ministry then forwards the files to the Special Branch (SB) of Police for verification.
However, delays in collecting field-level information and a lack of coordination among the agencies involved have significantly slowed the process. The administrative delays have had a direct and adverse impact on the lives of the recommended candidates.
At present, 1,807 candidates recommended under the 45th General BCS and 668 candidates under the 49th Special BCS are awaiting publication of the final gazette. The appointment process for 1,457 candidates recommended under the 46th BCS has also stalled in the same way.
After their names appeared on the PSC’s final list, the candidates and their families naturally celebrated the achievement. Many resigned from private-sector jobs, part-time employment or private tutoring—their primary source of income—in anticipation of joining government service.
However, the unusually long delay in gazette publication has exhausted their savings, leaving many of them in severe financial and personal hardship. Although they enjoy the social recognition of being known as future “BCS cadres” among relatives and friends, many are struggling to make ends meet.
Hundreds of posts in the 47th BCS may remain vacant
The delay in issuing appointment gazettes is also expected to affect the 47th BCS recruitment process.
Because appointments under the 45th, 46th and 49th BCS examinations remain pending despite final recommendations, many candidates have been compelled to sit for subsequent BCS examinations.
As a result, the same candidates are appearing on the merit lists of multiple BCS batches. If they eventually join under an earlier BCS, posts allocated under the 47th BCS could remain vacant. Those vacancies cannot be filled later, creating the risk that hundreds of valuable positions under the 47th BCS will go unfilled.
The situation could affect the overall functioning of the public administration. On the one hand, important government posts may remain vacant; on the other, thousands of new job seekers could lose opportunities.
Following the state minister’s assurance, affected candidates say they now want to see swift implementation. They have urged the government to publish the gazettes without delay and end the uncertainty surrounding their appointments.