The Bangladesh Civil Service is a nationwide competitive examination in Bangladesh conducted by the Bangladesh Public Service Commission for recruitment to the various Bangladesh Civil Service cadres, including BCS, BCS, BCS, BCS, and BCS among others. The examination is conducted in three phases - the preliminary examination, the written examination and the viva voce. The entire process from the notification of the preliminary examination to declaration of the final results takes 1.5 to 2 years.
Process
Bangladesh Civil Service Examination is based on the British Raj - era Imperial Civil Service. The Civil Services Examination of Bangladesh is considered as the top most competitive job examination in Bangladesh. On an average, 150,000 to 225,000 candidates apply every year and the percentage of candidates appearing is roughly 90%. Aspirants must complete a three-stage process, with a final success rate of about 0.02% for all cadres and 0.005% for general cadres, although it varies from years to years exam.
Phase I: Preliminary examination - This is qualifying test usually held in May/June every year. Notification for this is published about one month before the exam. Results are published about one month after the exam.
Phase II: Written examination - This is the main test, usually held in October/November/December every year. Notification for this is published about one month before the exam. Results are usually published 6 to 10 months after the exam.
Phase III: Viva Voce - It is the oral test and is held after the publication of written result.
Final result is published about 1.5 to 2 months after finishing the viva voce.
Eligibility
The eligibility norms for the examination are as follows:
Nationality
All candidates must be Bangladeshi citizens. Candidates who are committed to marry or thereby engaged to foreign nationals should apply for a Permit/NOC to the Government of People's Republic of Bangladesh; applications can not be made without a Permit/NOC.
Age
21 to 30 years
The maximum age limit of freedom fighters and their sons daughters, disable candidate and BCS cadre candidates is 32
Academic
Master's degree or 4-year bachelor's degree after Higher Secondary Certificate Exam. More than one-third class in any academic phase is considered as disqualification of a candidate.
Current policy of the quota system is highly criticized by the civil society members and intellectuals. Further continuation of freedom fighter quota among their children and grandchildren is highly controversial and, to some extent, a violation of Article 19 and 29 of the Constitution of Bangladesh. The students demonstrated a mass protest against this quota system in 2013. On April 8, 2018, students of Dhaka University began a protest to reform the Quota, however police force shot rubber bullets and teargas shells at the protestors. Two students lost their eyes and many other were admitted to DMCH due to their injuries. Anti Quota Protests were spread to other parts of the country which made this protest a vital political issue. The Prime minister of Bangladesh committed to remove this quota system as soon as possible.
Preliminary examination
This examination is a screening test conducted on the following pattern: Subject : Bengali - 35 Questions, English - 35 Questions, General Knowledge on Bangladesh & International Affairs - 50 Questions, General Science and computer - 30 Questions, Mathematical Reasoning and Mental Ability - 30 Questions, ethics and good governance -10, geography-10
Duration: 2 hours
Marks: 200
Question type: Objective
Main exams
Written examination
General cadre
Nine Compulsory subjects
General Bengali = 200 Marks
General English = 200 Marks
Bangladesh Affairs = 200 Marks
International Affairs = 100 Marks
Mathematical Reasoning and Mental Ability = 100 Marks
Candidates who pass the written phase successfully are qualified for the interview commonly known as viva voce. Success rate in this rigorous phase is quite lower than other phases. Current marks allocation for viva voce is 200.
Final selection
BPSC selects the candidates on the basis of the aggregated marks of written and viva voce. BPSC makes a merit list for those who obtains pass mark in the written and viva exam. Preliminary marks is not considered in this regard. 45% of the selection was made on the basis of merit and rest 55% according to several quotas. But now that the quota system has been cancelled, 100% of the selection will be held based on merit. BPSC recommends the selected qualified candidates to the Ministry of Public Administration. The ministry publishes the gazette of the selected candidates after a rigorous inspection of medical test by DGHS, Police verification and NSI verification. Generally, the entire process from the advertisement to the final date of joining takes 1 year.
