By Ahad Khan.
The Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) has recently announced the Central Superior Services (CSS) test results for 2023.
According to the announcement, only 408 students out of 13,800 passed the renowned exam, for an awful 2.96 percent.
In 2022, as many as 20,262 students took the exam, and 223 were pronounced successful.
Although the number of candidates who took what is known as the ‘king of tests’ in our area of the world has decreased, the demand for Pakistan’s treasured elite services has grown (as evidenced by statistics data from recent years).Istan’s elite civil service.
As I sat down to think about why individuals in Pakistan are concerned with CSS, whether the dropping number indicates a lack of interest in the civil service anymore, and why the pass % is so low, I began looking for the best person to satisfy my curiosity.
I needed someone who had been in the middle of it – a ‘expert’ – and after some thought, I decided to meet with former Civil Service Academy director general Umer Rasool.
Let us ask the seasoned bureaucrat.
Mr Rasool graciously accepted my request, and before I began asking formal questions, I complimented him on being a ‘flamboyant’ former DG. As if the phrase ‘flamboyant’ struck a raw chord, he immediately began pouring like a torrent, quenching my hunger for curiosity.
“People with enthusiasm and flamboyance are not welcome in our system. Bureaucrats are only a part of the system. “They cannot change the system,” he explained.
“We are just ‘cogs in the wheel’ that get replaced from time to time,” he said candidly.
But why this craze?
He started answering this question before I could ask him, as if he expected it.
“The lure of bureaucracy stems from our colonial past to which we are still enslaved,” he stated.
“Our forefathers would have observed a deputy commissioner’s etiquette during their meetings with him, and they would have unintentionally fell for the pomp and show. “That was the eureka moment when they wished that one day their son or daughter would become an officer like this ‘gora’ who rules the roost,” he explained, delving into history.
He stated that the only purpose for applying to CSS appeared to be a desire for perks and benefits. And while few students initially wanted to sincerely serve the public, it didn’t take long for their behaviours to shift as a result of an age-old pattern of educating these normally kind individuals. He refers to this behavioral transformation as a’schism of the soul’.
In response to my second question about the decreased number of students taking the competitive exam, he stated that this was merely a “short-term phenomenon”. It could be owing to the sudden political upheavals of the last two years, which pushed many people to seek their fortunes on foreign countries, he said.
He predicted that soon, a large number of people would compete for positions in the civil service as those left behind in the country would be forced to climb the ladder.
Mr Rasool, a seasoned bureaucrat, appeared critical of the bloated bureaucracy and advised the youth not to dream of becoming a ‘Babu’.
A journalist’s perspective
I also had the opportunity to hear an opposing perspective from a journalist with decades of experience in senior editorial positions.
In these lines, he expressed his thoughts on specific areas of competitive examinations.
“In my humble opinion, most pupils attempt competitive exams for the same reasons – parental or family aspirations and peer pressure.
“Second, CSS or PMS provide the fastest path to career with numerous incentives that other professions do not provide. So it is natural for them to desire the benefits that elite societies provide.
“Not for nothing do most candidates opt for elite Foreign Service, Pakistan Administrative Service or police,” he stated.
“I doubt many people care about being dutiful or patriotic. The first and foremost is the search for a prestigious job path. And that’s how it should be!” added the journalist, who preferred not to be identified.
He speculated that some people may take the exam simply for the sake of doing so. “One can’t say how many students have such an approach.”
Children are instilled with the ideals of being a “Babu” or “Afsar,” particularly in rural communities. This could be attributed to the deprivation that residents in the backwaters experience, as well as their desire to live in cities.”
Regarding the decrease in the number of candidates in the last year and the low pass percentage, he stated, “Well, that reflects sadly on the CSS testing system and, more importantly, on the authorities.
“Those in positions of authority loathe reform. And I’ve heard very little about competitive exam revisions.
“The government, on one hand, says more and more brains are required to steer the country towards progress and, on the other, seems least bothered about filling seats,” he argues.
He is a fervent believer that CSS or any other competitive examination is the right decision for many people. “Another factor is unemployment and shrinking opportunities which compel people to aspire the civil service career,” he continued.
“It may have shortcomings but despite that, I would like my son or daughter or for that matter anyone to go for it if they have good educational background and no better alternative,” he said.
“It is and should be the preferred choice,” he declared, nearly waxing poetic about the prized service.
CSS, he believes, is the only way for the average person to participate in a somewhat decent system.
Let me save my two cents on the subject for another day. Until then, enjoy these “expert excerpts.”
My opinion is loaded.
