The FPSC should form a special board like the University of London
LAHORE: Some people, especially bureaucrats, rightly say that the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) ensures merit. Obviously, that is a positive point but while arguing in favour of their outlook they forget a very important problem originating from the FPSC’s policies. Normally, a graduate of a Pakistani university prepares for almost a year for the CSS exam and the FPSC takes the same amount of time to prepare the result of the said exam. Moreover, a candidate who secures excellent marks in eleven subjects is knocked out by FPSC just because he secures only one mark less than the required marks in the 12th subject. Thus, a candidate’s hard work and his precious time is wasted. Last but not the least, 60 per cent of the English paper is based on cramming. A very talented student who gets an exceptional score in essay writing is failed in precis. It implies that cramming is the sole criterion for passing the CSS exam.
The FPSC should follow the suit of the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) in issuing CSS results because the PPSC prepares and announces their results in just one and a half months, having the same number of subjects: 12. Secondly, a student securing good marks in 11 CSS subjects and failing just because of one or two marks in the 12th subject should not be knocked out in a ruthless manner. The FPSC should form a special board like the University of London to recheck the papers of students who fail by one or two marks. Thirdly, the two English papers must be combined into one by changing the syllabus.
Suleman Mansha
Published in The Express Tribune, January 3rd, 2017.
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