48th BCS: ‘Why won’t my son get a job even after proving merit?’

In the bone-chilling cold of the Bengali month of Magh, Narayan Mallik of Nagarkanda in Faridpur would cast his fishing net into icy water up to his waist. Some days he caught fish; many days he did not.

On days without a catch, he, his wife, and their three sons would spend the night half-fed or not fed at all. This man, locked in a lifelong struggle with poverty, had only one dream: that his sons would grow up to be worthy human beings.

His eldest son, Ujjwal Mallik, realised his father’s hardship and overcame every obstacle. Demonstrating academic excellence in both secondary and higher secondary examinations, he secured admission to Suhrawardy Medical College in Dhaka.

After completing his MBBS, he was recommended by the Public Service Commission (PSC) for appointment through the 48th Special Bangladesh Civil Service (Health) Examination. Narayan Mallik believed that his days of hardship were finally over.

That joy has now turned into grief. Despite winning the battle of merit, Ujjwal Mallik has become trapped in the ‘invisible’ web of police verification. His name does not appear in the final gazette.

Speaking to Prothom Alo in a choked voice, Narayan Mallik said, “Living on half a meal became normal for us. But no hardship ever felt unbearable because I believed good days were coming.

My son passed the BCS. Now I hear the police have submitted an adverse report against us. I appeal to the government—please listen to this poor fisherman. What harm has a fisherman done to the country? Even after proving merit, will my son still be denied a job?”

Like Ujjwal Mallik, Pavel Rahman has also been excluded from the final gazette of the 48th Special BCS. Pavel comes from a remote village in Dimla upazila of Nilphamari. His father, Kamrul Islam, is a farmer who sold several bighas of land to educate his five children.

Pavel was initially admitted to Rajshahi University of Engineering & Technology to study computer science. Later, driven by a commitment to serve the underprivileged, he enrolled at Rangpur Medical College.

To finance his education, Pavel worked relentlessly, tutoring multiple students alongside his studies. Now deprived of employment due to police verification, Pavel asks, “Hundreds of people were martyred in the July uprising in the hope of a discrimination-free state. We were promised that genuine merit would be recognised. Has anything really changed? When no member of my family is involved in politics, why am I being subjected to this ‘oppression’?”

A startling picture has emerged at Sylhet MAG Osmani Medical College. Of the 21 candidates excluded from the 48th BCS, 15 are from this single institution.

One of them is Sirajam Munira. Because of her father’s transferable job, Munira spent her life moving from one district to another. She deliberately avoided political meetings or seminars, fearing she might be “labelled”. That caution proved futile.

Due to BCS preparation, she has already fallen behind in her postgraduate academic activities. The uncertainty and mental pressure caused by the denial of final appointment have made it difficult for her to live a normal life.

The list of 21 physicians excluded from the 48th Special BCS gazette includes Shubhra Debnath Neelu, Ilhamur Reza Chowdhury, Mushfiqur Rahman Bhuiyan, Alvi Faraji, Md Raisul Karim Nishan, Mehdi Hasan, Md Sabbir Ahmed Tushar, Md Suman Ahmed, Sourav Sarkar Dipra, Anindya Kushal Paul, Md Pavel Islam, Sirajam Munira, Ujjwal Mallik, Anupam Bhattacharya, Nahidur Rahman, Imtiaz Uddin Manik, Ahmed Muntakim Chowdhury, Sadi bin Shams, Nazmul Haque, AHM Sakharob, and Sabiha Afrin.

According to the candidates, none of them face any criminal charges.

Experts argue that scrutinising the political identities of candidates’ family members or relatives under the guise of police verification is fundamentally incompatible with a modern democratic and merit-based society.

According to them, although Articles 28 and 29 of the Constitution guarantee equality of opportunity for citizens, this verification process violates those rights.

Speaking about this, Supreme Court lawyer Manzur-al-Matin told Prothom Alo that depriving meritorious students of their future due to family or political identity is wholly inconsistent with the Constitution, a neutral administrative system, and the core principles of good governance.

“In recruitment, merit and competence must be established as the sole criteria,” he said.

Meanwhile, the deprived candidates met the secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration on 25 January and submitted a formal application.

The ministry’s public relations officer Mansur Hossain told Prothom Alo that the candidates had lodged their complaints and that the ministry had assured them of initiating a fresh review process.

Yet this assurance has not dispelled the uncertainty haunting Ujjwal, Pavel, or Munira.

For marginalised people like Narayan Mallik and Kamrul Islam, the fear remains: will the state truly recognise their children’s merit? Or will the spirit of July and the promise of a discrimination-free Bangladesh remain confined to paper?

The Ministry of Public Administration last Thursday (22 January 2026) issued the notification for the 48th Special BCS.

The notification stated that 3,263 candidates had been appointed to entry-level posts in various Bangladesh Civil Service cadres under the National Pay Scale 2015, with a salary range of Tk 22,000–53,060. The notification was issued following PSC recommendations.

However, many candidates recommended by the PSC were excluded from the final notification.