The Anti-Discrimination Student Movement of July–August 2024 was essentially an uprising of educated young people against dissatisfaction and deprivation related to employment.
As the movement grew in scale, the then government was overthrown, and an interim government was formed with the support of students and the youth.
The first responsibility of the interim government should have been solving the employment and recruitment-related problems of young people, but unfortunately, the government did not take any effective steps in that regard.
Instead, various activities of the newly formed Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) have become a source of deep frustration among job seekers.
The circular for the 47th BCS (Bangladesh Civil Service) was published in November 2024. The first scheduled date for the preliminary exam was 27 June 2025, which was later postponed to 8 August, and then again further postponed to 19 September 2025.
The preliminary exam results were published on 28 September, in which 10,644 candidates passed. After that, on 26 October, the PSC announced that the written exam for the 47th BCS would begin on 29 November 2025. Meanwhile, the 49th special BCS was held on 10 October 2025.
Given this situation, for new written exam candidates, completing the vast BCS written syllabus and preparing within only 45 to 46 days is almost impossible. Reviewing previous BCS exams shows that candidates have generally had six to seven months for written preparation.
Therefore, although candidates of the 47th BCS have repeatedly made reasonable requests for postponement of the exam, the PSC has not been paying attention.
Instead, on 3 November, when written exam candidates gathered in front of the PSC office to press for their demands, the police charged at them with batons — an act that was extremely unfortunate and inhumane.
On one hand, the PSC says the backlog of BCS exams must be cleared; on the other hand, it organised the 49th special BCS for only 683 posts, which was entirely unnecessary. These posts could easily have been merged with the 44th, 45th, or 46th BCS, as had been done previously.
The PSC claims that conducting exams quickly is necessary to resolve the backlog. But by organising the 49th special BCS, it has instead artificially created new complications. Now, in an effort to complete a BCS exam within a year, PSC has begun rushing to hold the written exam of the 47th BCS.
We certainly want one BCS exam to be completed each year, but it must be done in a planned and realistic manner. Instead of unreasonable haste, adequate preparation time should be given to the candidates of the 47th BCS.
We hope the PSC will act with good judgment, grant candidates reasonable preparation time, and decide to postpone the date of the written exam.
The writer is a candidate of the 47th written exam, who requested anonymity.