ISLAMABAD: A meagre 393 of all 20,262 takers of the entrance examination for employment in the most sought-after civil service were able to pass the first phase of the assessment, according to the result declared by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC).
According to the recruiter, only 1.94 percent of testers secured the minimum passing marks in the written phase of arguably the nation’s toughest exam, the Central Superior Services (CSS), who would now appear for psychological assessment and viva voce.
Statistics showed a total of 30,059 candidates applied to sit in the exam, of which 20,262 appeared for the test conducted in February every year.
The result of unsuccessful candidates will “remain withheld in line with Rule 16-6 of CSS Competitive Examination Rules, 2019,” the recruiting agency said, without saying when it intends to release that.
Previously, it had been following trends where engineers would opt for high-scoring maths and score high marks, something not possible for even brilliant students of other, less-scoring subjects.
But, in 2016, the FPSC, acting on the recommendations of an internal study, changed the rules to adopt a specialised subject approach. The move has put the majority of candidates at an unfair disadvantage, observers believe.
Experts have argued the government should end the consideration of academic qualifications and command of the English language for civil service jobs apart from where directly related to the post, to end the snobbery over degrees.
Many who have made it through the process in previous years also seem to agree. They say academic qualifications should only be taken into account where they are a genuine occupational requirement, such as science qualification, as it would open up the field to more external talent.
A candidate, who couldn’t pass this year’s exam, said such a move would allow the civil service to choose from a wider pool of candidates and those with a broader life experience.
