The CSS debacle

Letter July 04, 2018
It is not the first time that the CSS candidates have given disappointing performance in the exam

LAHORE: Certainly, it is not the first time that the Central Superior Services’ candidates have given disappointing performance in the exam. Only last year similar stories of a minuscule percentage of CSS candidates clearing the exam made it to the media. Debate among the concerned bodies started on how to fix the whole process as candidates are expected to join government service and run the affairs of the government once they have cleared the examination. Hence, poor performance is likely to have an impact on a macro level.

Amidst all this, the question that arises is why not something has already been done to fix the structure of the exam, when only last year the Senate formed a body to review the exam pattern and structure, what became of the hue and cry that echoed in the concerned quarters for days.

It is due to the fact that to majority the CSS exam has become a means to secure government jobs, which would not only be their source for earning a livelihood for a lifetime regardless of how incompetent one is but also provide them with the clout that comes along a police department or any other such job. To fix matters, candidates must be screened before appearing in the actual exam, similar to the manner universities conduct aptitude test to filter out the weak candidates. CSS must be one of the tough examinations, with tough criteria to let only the highly competent to join government service.

Sharmeen Qasim

Published in The Express Tribune, July 4th, 2018.

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