The Public Service Commission, for the first time, is going to introduce a 'detailed' syllabus for the preliminary test of the Bangladesh Civil Service examinations, incorporating three new subjects along with the present six disciplines.
The authorities will publicise the new syllabus for the preliminary test ahead of the upcoming 35th BCS examination.
They hope that the new 'up-to-date' syllabus will help the commission select suitable candidates for civil services.
The new subjects set to be incorporated into the syllabus are geography (Bangladesh and the world) plus environment and disaster management, computer and information technology and morality, values and good governance, said a PSC statement submitted to the Public Administration Ministry.
According to the statement, the result of the written examination of the 34th BCS is likely to be published by October and viva may start by November.
At present, the PSC selects candidates for the written examination through a 100-mark preliminary test with multiple choice questions (MCQs).
“Earlier, there was no syllabus for the preliminary tests. The MCQ type questions are set from Bangla, English, general knowledge and Bangladesh affairs, international affairs, science and technology, and mathematical logic and psychological capabilities,” said the statement that was placed in parliament last month.
“For the first time, detailed syllabuses for each of the subjects will be set for the preliminary tests,” it said.
“In the 35th BCS preliminary exams, three new subjects will be incorporated. These are geography (Bangladesh and the world) plus environment and disaster management, computer and information technology and morality, values and good governance.”
For the general cadres, the candidates passing the preliminary examination must sit for 900-mark written tests on six subjects such as Bangla (200), English (200), Bangladesh affairs (200), international affairs (100), mathematics and psychological capabilities (100) and general science and technology (100).
“We have adopted some measures to update the BCS syllabus and you all will come to know about it at the right time,” Ekram Ahmed, the PSC chairman, told the Dhaka Tribune in reply to a question on when the commission would make the syllabus public.
The cabinet committee had already recommended raising the preliminary test mark to 200 instead of 100. The PSC gives the preliminary tests to shortlist the candidates for the written examinations as the number of applicants has been on the rise.
The PSC, a constitutional body, has the authority not to accept the government recommendations on the examination methods.
The commission had already formed committees to recommend changes to the written examinations.
According to the official figures, 221,575 applicants applied for 2,052 posts in the last 34th BCS. Of the total, 46,250 candidates passed the preliminary exam.
In the 33rd BCS, 193,059 applicants applied for 9,008 posts and a total of 28,917 candidates sat for the written examinations.