Why CSS candidates fail the exam

The dream of every aspirant is to reach the heights of success. Their aspirations vary according to interest and opportunity. Some pursue medical; others move towards engineering or the fast-growing IT sector. A number choose to inherit family businesses. Among those left with limited economic opportunities, many turn towards competitive examinations such as Central Superior Services (CSS) and Provincial Management Services (PMS), seeing them as a way to upward mobility. For them, the civil service becomes not merely a career choice but a ladder out of social stagnation.

Conducted by Federal Public Service Commission, CSS has long been viewed as Pakistan's most prestigious examination -— an elite gateway demanding long hours of solitary study, as advised by predecessors who cleared it decades ago. Yet this mythology conceals the real demands of the exam. CSS success is less about isolation and more about commitment, consistency and proper direction.

For 2025, only 354 candidates passed the written exam out of 12,792 who appeared — a pass rate of just 2.77%. Historically, the trend is worsening: 3.33% passed in 2014; 3.11% in 2015; and only 2.09% last year. What is particularly alarming is that the overwhelming majority of failures occur in English Essay and English Precis & Composition. Various reports estimate that 92-97% of the candidates fail the essay alone. FPSC examiners continue to highlight predictable weaknesses: off-topic essays, rambling arguments, poor structure, weak evidence and an inadequate command of written English.

This raises uncomfortable questions. Why do candidates devote months to memorising irrelevant material but neglect the very skills the examination demands? Hours of reading are futile without understanding how to express ideas logically and coherently. An English essay requires more than information; it requires clarity of thought, proper grammar, relevance to the topic and a coherent argument. Similarly, the composition paper tests precision, vocabulary, sentence structure, punctuation, and the ability to summarise complex ideas — skills few students practise systematically.

The challenge extends beyond English. Subjects such as Current Affairs and Pakistan Affairs also contribute to mass failure because candidates often rely on outdated, poorly referenced guidebooks. These materials rarely provide analytical depth, yet students treat them as gospel. Islamiat also records significant failure because candidates repeat school-level material without research, context or critical understanding. Knowledge that is memorised rather than analysed rarely survives the test of rigorous examination.

The CSS syllabus is divided into six compulsory subjects — English Essay, English Precis & Composition, General Science & Ability, Current Affairs, Pakistan Affairs, and Islamiat — totalling 600 marks. Each subject requires a minimum of 40 marks to pass, except the General Knowledge trio (Pakistan Affairs, Current Affairs, General Science & Ability), which requires a combined score of 120 out of 300. Candidates then choose optional subjects worth another 600 marks. These optional subjects are not mere formalities; they often determine the group a candidate ultimately secures, making their careful selection crucial.

The real obstacle is neither the syllabus nor the competition; it is the mindset with which aspirants approach the exam. Many believe that piling up notes, listening to motivational lectures and memorising readymade content will somehow translate into analytical writing on exam day. It never does. CSS demands intellectual discipline: the ability to reason, critique, synthesise and write. Without these skills, no amount of cramming can rescue a candidate.

CSS requires guidance, mentoring and, above all, a shift in how students understand learning itself. The examination tests whether a candidate can think, not merely recall. Rote knowledge has no utility in a system that seeks future bureaucrats capable of running institutions, drafting policy and solving the complexities of governance. Those aspiring to join the country's highest administrative posts must therefore develop analytical habits, read critically, write regularly and replace shortcuts with relentless effort.