44th BCS: New decision expected on repeat cadres

The government is about to take a new decision regarding the recommendation of repeat cadre in the 44th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination.

These are candidates who were already recommended for a certain cadre in the 43rd or earlier BCS exams and have been recommended for the same cadre again in the 44th BCS.

A senior official at the public administration ministry said that a decision about these cadres is expected soon.

Preferring not to be named, speaking to Prothom Alo today, Thursday, the official said they have received some recommendations from the Public Service Commission (PSC) regarding the repeat cadre issue. The government is currently reviewing these and also exploring possible actions if repeat allocations are to be cancelled.

Now, the PSC has been asked to submit an opinion. And, once their opinion is received, it will be reviewed and a notice will be published in this regard, the official said adding they are working to ensure that this issue is permanently resolved.

A senior PSC official told Prothom Alo earlier in the day that while the commonly mentioned figure for repeat cadres is around 400, the actual number is 372.

The PSC has finalised a list of these 372 candidates and shared a Google form with them.

Candidates are being asked to confirm whether they wish to retain the cadre they received in the 44th BCS or prefer to remain in their previous cadre. Based on their responses, a list will be compiled then.

Vacant posts will be identified from this list and may be reallocated to non-cadre candidates from the 44th BCS who scored higher or those candidates who could have been selected for these posts had they been available.

The process aims to ensure no candidate’s rights are compromised. So, the issue of cancelling their recommendation is not in discussion that much, the official added.

The final result of the 44th BCS was published on 30 June. The PSC initially recommended 1,690 candidates for appointment across various cadres in this BCS.

However, upon analysis, it was found that nearly 400 of those selected 1,690 had already been recommended for the same cadre (repeat cadres) in earlier BCS exams. PSC has received the list of these 400 candidates.

Now, amendments are being made to the existing regulations to prevent this repeat cadre recommendations in future.

And, the PSC has sent a letter to the public administration to this effect.

In that letter, the PSC pointed out that repeat cadre allocations deprive new and waiting candidates of opportunities and hinder effective use of administrative structures and human resources. The proposal is currently awaiting approval.

To resolve this, the PSC has proposed adding a condition at the end of Rule 17 of the Bangladesh Civil Service (Age, Qualification and Examination for Direct Recruitment) Rules, 2014.

The letter sent by PSC mentions, “Provided that, prior to making any recommendation to the government under these Rules, or at the time of preparing the final results of any BCS examination, if it becomes apparent to the commission, based on written information provided by the candidate or other procedures determined by the Commission, that any eligible or nominated candidate has been nominated for the same cadre post, an equivalent post, or a cadre or service they are not interested in, and is therefore unwilling to join, the commission may refrain from recommending such a disinterested candidate to the government under these Rules.”  

“Further provided that, as a result of refraining from recommending such a candidate, the commission may publish a supplementary result and recommend another candidate from among the successful candidates based on merit for appointment to the vacant cadre or service post. Additionally, it is stated that no changes or decisions may be made against any candidate who was originally recommended for a cadre or service in the first announced result as a consequence of the supplementary result or its implications,” the letter added.