A group of candidates excluded from the final gazette of the 43rd Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) has demanded that 168 dropped individuals be re-gazetted and allowed to join by January 5.
The demand was made at a press conference held in front of the central library of Dhaka University at 12:30pm on Thursday.
Speaking at the event, Masuma Akhtar, on behalf of the excluded candidates, explained their grievances.
"We have worked tirelessly for four years and successfully passed all stages of the 43rd BCS examination with honesty. On December 26, 2023, the Public Service Commission (PSC) recommended 2,163 candidates across 26 cadres. After 10 months of investigation, the Ministry of Public Administration gazetted our names on October 15, 2024, setting November 17 as the date of joining. Later, our joining date was postponed to January 1, 2025," she said.
Masuma added that candidates had made necessary preparations to join as instructed. Many had resigned from their existing positions or foregone opportunities in government and private jobs. Additionally, many refrained from participating in the 44th BCS oral examinations that began on December 22.
"However, in an unexpected turn of events, 222 names, including 168 of our group, were omitted from the second gazette published on December 30. This decision has left us unemployed, disoriented, and socially demeaned," Masuma noted, describing the disheartening situation faced by candidates and their families.
Masuma called for the fulfilment of the government’s vision to establish a merit-based and discrimination-free civil service system.
"Despite our inclusion in the first gazette, the exclusion from the republished gazette for unknown reasons contradicts the spirit of the July Revolution. This injustice is both shocking and heart-breaking," she added.
At the end of the press conference, the group presented a single-point demand.
They said that by January 5, the excluded names should be included in the gazette, and the joining date for all 43rd BCS cadre officers should be confirmed on January 15.
The candidates urged the authorities to address the issue promptly to protect their careers and livelihoods.
