- 24-27 aged do well. Older have lower successful rate in BCS
- It’s necessary to strengthen private sector by taking policy measures
- More time and money wasted by PSC
Country’s graduated and post-graduated job seekers are in dire straits as there is job deficiency in both government and private sector according to the job seekers number. On the top of that, country’s private sector job opportunity is almost narrow for national and private university’s students and for general graduated students. Private sector job is also unpredictable that is why the students tries ro secure a govt job. Amid the entire government job Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) is the pinnacle choice of the country's job seekers. Job seekers have to spend a long time from preparing for this highly competitive exam to the final recommendation for recruitment. However, on an average only about half a percent of the total candidates get a chance to be a part of the state bureaucracy by clearing the BCS exam and being recommended for recruitment. Last week, the government decided to increase the age limit for entering government jobs. As a result, experts believe that the amount of time spent by the candidates for BCS is going to increase.
Of the last five BCS exams (39th to 43rd) that have been processed so far, three were general and two were special BCS. Of these, the 39th and 42nd BCS were for doctors only, intended for recruitment to the post of Assistant Surgeons. And 40th, 41st and 43rd General BCS is organized for the recruitment of 9th grade officers in 26 cadres of various state administrations.
Participating in BCS exam requires long preparation. A large part of the aspirants are seen preparing for it from the first year of graduation. After a long preparation, it takes more than three years from the publication of the notification to passing the preliminary, written and oral examinations and being recommended for recruitment in the case of General BCS.
According to the information of the Ministry of Public Administration, the notification for organizing the 40th General BCS was published on September 11, 2018. The number of eligible applicants participating in it was 4 lakh 12 thousand 532. After preliminary, written and oral examination, the list of candidates recommended for recruitment to BCS was published after 3 years 6 months 20 days on 30 March 2022. 1 thousand 963 people were finally recommended, which is 0.48 percent of the total participants.
After the publication of the 41st BCS circular in November 2019, it took 3 years 8 months 7 days to publish the final list of recommended candidates. According to the list published on August 3, 2023, 0.62 percent of the total participants (4 lakh 4 thousand 513 people) received the final recommendation for appointment. The number of recommended is 2 thousand 520. Similarly, it took more than three years to release the final recommended list of 43rd BCS after the notification in November 2020. 0.49 percent (2 thousand 163 people) of the total participants (4 lakh 42 thousand 831 people) got recommendations.
Experts say that a large part of those who take part in BCS spend a long time just preparing for this exam. Many even refrain from joining jobs or employment after graduation or post-graduation for the sake of preparation. But a very small part of them can pass this exam and join the government administration. For the rest, the entire time is wasted. The recent decision to increase the age limit for entering government jobs, there is a fear that the level of fruitless time expenditure of many people will increase.
Former Cabinet Secretary Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said, "In our country, students participate in BCS in droves. A large section of students are wasting their time and money. Many could have joined other jobs if they could not survive in BCS. At this age when a person can give service to the state or society, earn by them, they pass the time by preparing and giving exams. Although the age limit for the job has been increased, the reality is that if you are older, you will not perform well in the exam. And repeated examination wastes candidates' time. PSC also has a lot of expenses.
He said, 'Everyone does not need to be a government employee. It is important to realize that not everyone needs to be a BCS cadre. Because talent is needed everywhere. For this reason, it is necessary to strengthen the private sector by taking policy measures.
Dr Delwar Hossain, former member of PSC and professor of International Relations Department of Dhaka University, said much the same. He said, 'among our students or job aspirants there is a tendency to try again and again for a particular job. As a result, the other places where they had opportunities or where they could have developed their talent, are not possible.
According to experts, the interest in BCS is so strong among students or job aspirants that majority do not consider it a waste of time. After a long preparation, every BCS, except special ones, is taking more than three years to complete the entire process. Again the process of BCS is such that the younger ones do better.
Dr Sadiq Hasan, professor of public administration department of Dhaka University, said, 'In the last BCS, it has been seen that those aged 24-27 years are doing well. Older people have a lower successful rate. And in case of above 29 years it is absolutely negative. Our BCS process is memory dependent. As people get older, their cognitive ability or memory decreases. As a result, the positive change that will be obtained by increasing the age limit of government jobs for comparatively older candidates cannot be said.
Special BCS recruitment process is completed in relatively less time. The rate of recommended recruitment among the total candidates is also relatively high. Two of the last five BCSs to complete the process were the 39th and 42nd respectively. These are organized for the recruitment of doctors in government medical institutions. Out of this 39th (Special) BCS notification was released on 8th April 2018. Out of 37 thousand 576 applicants in that BCS, 6 thousand 792 got final recommendation for recruitment. The whole process took a little more than a year until the final recommendation in two phases. And in 42nd (Special) BCS, the entire process took a little over 10 months. Out of 31 thousand 26 candidates, 4 thousand were recommended for final recruitment.
ZH