What did the Public Service Commission achieve in 1 year?

Every day, crowds of jobseekers can be seen at the entrance of the main building of Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) in Agargaon area of Dhaka.

Some come to check results, others in hope of new circulars. Some carry BCS application forms and some arrive for viva-voce examinations.

A candidate recommended in the 44th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) said, “It has been three years and 11 months since the circular of the 44th BCS was published, yet I still haven’t been appointed.”

Requesting anonymity, the jobseeker added, “Such a delay from the PSC is unacceptable.”

Following the July uprising, jobseekers had high expectations of the PSC in the changed political context. Meanwhile, PSC’s activities in the past one year to meet those expectations have drawn mixed reactions.

They say the positive actions taken by the new commission include- speeding up BCS exams and script evaluation, reducing application fees, printing question papers at its own press, reducing viva-voce marks, and taking steps to reform the syllabus.

However, the PSC has still failed to resolve non-cadre recruitment complications, prevent question paper errors, and stop harassment in the name of police verification or unwarranted job dismissals. Though, verification and dismissal issues fall outside PSC’s jurisdiction.

After the interim government took office, the 12-member commission led by Sohrab Hossain resigned on 8 October last year. Subsequently, the 14th PSC, led by Professor Mobasser Monem, took responsibility. Initially comprising four members including the chairman, the number gradually increased to 19.

Some changes have become clear over the commission’s first year. After taking responsibility, it took steps and new initiative to reform the BCS exam system. This year from the 46th BCS onwards, a ‘circular evaluation system’ has been introduced for assessing written scripts, which is expected to reduce delays. The BCS application fee has been reduced from Tk 700 to Tk 200.

Meanwhile, viva marks have been reduced from 200 to 100. According to relevant officials, lowering viva marks reduces psychological pressure on jobseekers and increases transparency. To ensure question paper security, the PSC has started using its own digital printing press, used for the 49th (special) BCS. A unique ID system for candidates is also in progress.

PSC member Professor Sohel Rahman told Prothom Alo, “We are trying to tackle several problems simultaneously. We are on track towards achieving the ‘One BCS, One Year’ goal. If we receive demand letters on time from the Ministry of Public Administration, this goal can be realised from the 50th BCS.”

Result publication has also accelerated since the new commission took charge. The 47th BCS preliminary exam was held on 19 September, and the result was published within nine days. Earlier, the 46th BCS preliminary result came out within just 13 days.

The entire process of the 48th (special) BCS, from application to result, took only three months and 11 days, whereas previously this used to take over a year. After a long wait, the supplementary result of the 44th BCS was published on 8 November, recommending 1,676 candidates for appointment.

PSC Chairman Professor Mobasser Monem said the PSC is constitutionally an independent institution but practically has limited administrative and financial independence. “Unlike the Election Commission, the PSC has no authority to frame its own rules.”

“Since 2011, the commission has been functioning like a department under the Ministry of Public Administration due to political influence. If administrative and financial independence is ensured, BCS recruitment can be completed within a year,” he added.

The Public Administration Reform Commission has suggested completing the BCS recruitment process within one to one-and-a-half years. Its report recommends following a fixed annual calendar to ensure merit-based recruitment and shorten the excessively lengthy process.

Professor Tariq Monzoor of the Bangla department at Dhaka University believes increasing the number of PSC members would be rational.

However, pointing out issues regarding the quality of BCS and other recruitment test questions, he said most questions are memory-based, and current formats fail to assess analytical ability, critical thinking, or creativity.

The professor stressed the need for a complete overhaul of the question pattern and reducing recruitment delays.

A jobseeker told Prothom Alo that reducing application fees and viva marks is candidate-friendly, but no structural reform has taken place. Bureaucratic complexities between the PSC and the Ministry of Public Administration still remains, and in some cases, it has even increased.

The MCQ exam (preliminary) of the 49th BCS (special) education cadre was held on 10 October this year. Multiple spelling and factual errors were found in the question paper.

Writer-researcher Nadim Mahmud identified at least 11 errors there. A Dhaka University examinee said, “Even with improved technology, the PSC is failing to produce accurate, high-quality questions.”

Acknowledging that spelling mistakes are unacceptable, PSC Chairman Mobasser Monem said the commission will remain extremely vigilant to prevent such mistakes in future.

The new commission has also not resolved non-cadre recruitment complications.

In the 43rd BCS, only 642 candidates were recommended, prompting protests. The PSC says the file to amend the 2023 recruitment rules has been forwarded to the Ministry of Public Administration, but no response has come yet.

A jobseeker named Rahman Khalil said, “I passed the qualification tests but still do not have a job. Yet more than 468,000 posts are vacant in various government offices.”

Even those who passed the BCS exams continue to face delays due to police verification issues. Negative reports from police or intelligence agencies can block final appointments. However, the interim government appointed 259 candidates from the 28th to 42nd BCS whose names did not appear in the final gazette.

Jobseekers say many appointments are still delayed due to time-consuming verification. They argue that excluding PSC-recommended candidates on the basis of political identity violates the constitution.

Professor Ridwanul Haque of the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) at Dhaka University believes that the PSC must maintain independence and neutrality instead of being confined within the government’s orbit. Strengthening administrative independence is essential.

For the current commission, the biggest challenges are ensuring high-quality question-setting and transparency in non-cadre recruitment. Successful implementation of the PSC’s “One BCS, One Year” plan would bring major improvements to human resource management, he remarked.