Modern needs: FPSC revises CSS exam scheme

Six optional subjects added; agency head says changes made according to global trends

MULTAN: After almost 34 years, the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) has announced a change in the pattern of the Central Superior Services (CSS) examination, a highly competitive assessment required for entry into the civil bureaucracy of Pakistan. The new pattern will be enacted from the next session of the CSS exam to be held in February next year.

The overhauling of the selection procedure was underway since the last five years, sources informed The Express Tribune, and the exam has now been made compatible with the latest subjects in the regular studies to promote a modern view of studies for the candidates.



According to the official notification issued by FPSC Secretary Syed Hyder Ali on Friday, the recruiting agency “recognised the need to align the subjects and syllabi of CSS examination with the emerging global trends… [The scheme has been revised] for netting high talent and quality fabric for the Civil Service.” The CSS exam pattern was last revised in 1981, it said.

Like previously, the aspirants of the CSS Competitive Examination will be required to attempt papers of 600 marks each in the compulsory and optional subject categories. The compulsory subjects have slightly been changed, while the list of optional subjects has been increased, with a change in their groupings.

The subject known as Everyday Science for decades will now be called “General Science and Ability”, indicating that a portion of the test will check the Intelligence Quotient of the candidates. Whereas the Islamiat subject has now been renamed Islamic Studies, and a new subject, “Comparative Study of Major Religions”, has been introduced for non-Muslim candidates as a possible alternative. Previously, the non-Muslim candidates had the option either to take lslamiat as one of the compulsory subject or treat another compulsory subject, Pakistan Affairs, as double-weighted one, where half of the total marks obtained in the paper were counted in lieu of Islamiat.

Previously, the IQ was judged at a psychological assessment after a candidate cleared the written examination.

Other four compulsory subjects remain unchanged and the revised syllabi have been uploaded by FPSC. Syllabi of all subjects have been updated with the latest research in the field of study of the respective subject, CSS instructors said.

The optional subjects were earlier distributed in nine groups and totaled 40 subjects, which has now been revised to 7 major groups consisting of 46 subjects, with an addition of six new subjects. The new additions are Governance and Public Policies, Town Planning and Urban Management, Gender Studies, Environmental Sciences, Criminology, and Anthropology.

“The revision will help end cramming and a fixed pattern of preparation encouraged by centres, and will bring in new talent to the civil bureaucracy of the country,” Khalid Saeed, a famous psychologist who has mentored over a million CSS students in previous sessions, told The Express Tribune.

CSS examination for 2016 session will be held from 18 February, 2016 onwards.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 18^th, 2015.