A parliamentary watchdog yesterday recommended dropping the existing MCQ (Multiple Choice Question) system, which the Public Service Commission follows, from the preliminary test to shortlist the applicants for the next stage of written exams.
The parliamentary standing committee on public administration asked the ministry to find an alternative to the MCQ system in which candidates sat for a 100 mark test by filling out a machine-readable script sheet.
This method helps the Public Service Commission to prepare the preliminary results in a month or two, though there are over 200,000 applicants.
The commission figures shows 221,575 applicants took part in the last 34th Bangladesh Civil Service examination that took one year eight months and 22 days to complete.
Former cabinet secretary HT Imam, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s political adviser, former home minister and lawmaker Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir, a bureaucrat turned politician, and ex-governor of the central bank Dr Farash Uddin Ahmed attended the meeting of the standing committee on special invitation.
The meeting sources said HT Imam raised the issue of changing the MCQ system in the public service saying that it was not a good method to judge the quality of the applicants.
Instead, he suggested the introduction of an easy system to shortlist candidates would present bureaucracy better.
Muhiuddin Khan Alamgir and Farash Uddin also seconded the proposal.
“To best judge the merits of the candidates, the standing committee recommended the ministry to formulate a merit-based system of examination instead of the MCQ method,” said a press statement issued by the parliament secretariat.
However, Standing Committee Chairman HN Ashequr Rahman told the Dhaka Tribune: “We are examining the options. We have not recommended it.”
Workers’ Party MP and committee member Mostofa Lutfullah told reporters: “Most of the committee members are in favour of dropping the MCQ system.”
State Minister for Public Administration Ismat Ara Sadique and committee members AMB Fazle Karim Chowdhury, Shukumer Ranjan Ghosh, Md Abdullah and Khorshed Ara attended the meeting.
According to the Rules of Procedure, the parliamentary standing committees are simply the recommending bodies. The ministries have no obligation to implement their recommendations.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is the minister in-charge of the public administration ministry.
Secretary Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury told the meeting that the Public Service Commission was in favour of retaining the MCQ system.