The Public Service Commission (PSC) is preparing to implement significant reforms, including major decisions regarding the pending BCS exams and other changes in government recruitment procedures.
PSC has announced that it is working on substantial changes in the BCS and other government job processes, aiming to improve convenience for job seekers. After a period of about four and a half months of inactivity, the constitutional body has made some key decisions. Several important issues have been considered, and proposals have been sent to the Ministry of Public Administration for approval.
Reduction in oral exam marks
In the BCS exam process, candidates first take the preliminary exam, followed by the written exam, and finally the oral exam. Currently, the oral exam is conducted for 200 marks. PSC proposes reducing this to 100 marks.
As a result, the total BCS exam will now be out of 1000 marks instead of the previous 1100 marks. PSC has submitted this proposal to the Ministry of Public Administration for approval. The Ministry has confirmed that the proposal has been approved, and it will be implemented starting from the 44th BCS.
Proposal to lower the application fee
PSC has proposed halving the application fee for the 47th BCS and has received support from the Ministry of Public Administration. The proposal, sent on Monday, suggests reducing the application fee from Tk700 to Tk350.
Subsequently, on Wednesday, the Secretary Committee decided that the application fee for all government jobs, including BCS, will be set at Tk200. A formal notification on this decision will be issued soon, as confirmed by Mohammad Mansur Hossain, the Public Relations Officer of the Senior Secretary’s Office at the Ministry of Public Administration.
Opportunity to take BCS exam until the age limit
On October 31, the Advisory Council decided that candidates can take the BCS exam a maximum of four times. However, PSC aims to allow candidates to take the BCS exam as many times as they wish as long as they meet the age limit for government job applications.
To this end, PSC has sent a proposal to the Ministry of Public Administration. If approved, candidates will be allowed to take the BCS exam any number of times until they turn 32, as long as they are still eligible based on their age for job applications.
A PSC official confirmed that under the government’s decision, a candidate can take the BCS exam up to four times until they are 32 years old.
However, PSC is pushing for candidates to be allowed to sit for the exam as long as they meet the age eligibility for government job applications. This proposal has also been sent to the Ministry of Public Administration.
Recently, PSC announced the 47th BCS exam. Online applications will open on December 10 and close at 11:59pm on December 31. There are 3,487 vacant cadre posts and 201 non-cadre posts in this BCS. A total of 3,688 candidates will be selected for recruitment through BCS.