50th BCS viva begins, PSC sticks to announced roadmap

The viva voce examinations for the 50th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) began today, Tuesday.

This marks the final stage of the Bangladesh Public Service Commission’s (PSC) plan to complete one BCS examination cycle within a year.

In line with the PSC’s roadmap, the viva has begun on schedule following the swift publication of the preliminary and written examination results.

According to the schedule announced by the PSC, the 50th BCS circular was published on 26 November 2025.

The preliminary examination was held on 30 January 2026. Just 11 days after the examination, the commission published the preliminary results on 10 February. A total of 12,385 candidates passed the preliminary examination.

The written examination was subsequently held from 9 April to 7 May. The results were published on 23 July, just 77 days, or two and a half months, after the examination ended. A total of 6,165 candidates were selected for the viva. Their oral examinations began today at the PSC office.

A total of 2,150 officers will be recruited through this BCS, including both cadre and non-cadre positions.

Of the 1,755 cadre posts, the highest number of appointments—650—will be made to the health cadre.

In addition, 200 officers will be recruited to the administration cadre and 117 to the police cadre, while a significant number of positions will also be filled in the education cadre. Candidates who pass the viva will receive final recommendations for these posts.

According to PSC sources, previous BCS recruitment processes often took a long time to complete. Job seekers had to wait for extended periods at every stage, from holding the examinations to publishing the results.

To address these delays, the PSC has set a target, beginning with the 50th BCS, of publishing the final results of a BCS examination within one year. According to the calendar, the PSC is scheduled to announce the final results of the 50th BCS by 25 November this year.

Although the PSC has maintained its schedule for conducting examinations and publishing results, concerns remain over delays in final appointments.

The main bottleneck is the pre-employment background check, or police verification, which takes considerable time after the PSC makes its recommendations.

The Ministry of Public Administration oversees the verification and final appointment process. Because the verification takes so long, candidates are not receiving the full benefit of the PSC’s faster publication of results.

Despite the completion of various stages and recommendation processes by the PSC, the gazettes for the 45th, 46th and 49th BCS examinations have yet to be published.

Candidates fear that unless the verification process under the Ministry of Public Administration is expedited and the gazettes are published on time, their hope of receiving final appointments within a year will remain unfulfilled.