Candidates of the 47th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination have alleged widespread irregularities, factual errors, and inconsistencies in the preliminary test.
They have given the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) three days to respond to their concerns, warning of a strong movement if their demands remain unaddressed.
The allegations were made at a press conference held at Dhaka University’s Madhur Canteen on Wednesday afternoon.
The written statement was read out by Jalal Ahmed, a 47th BCS candidate and Dhaka University student.
Other candidates, including Jiban Ahmed Abhi, Rajib, and Abu Saleh, were also present at the briefing.
Jalal Ahmed claimed that the preliminary question paper, held nationwide on 19 September, was “excessively complex and time-consuming,” leaving examinees with little opportunity to complete the paper.
“The questions were so difficult that it took nearly two hours just to understand them. It was almost impossible to answer all within the allotted time. The paper should have been balanced in terms of time and content,” he said.
The candidates alleged that several questions contained factual errors or missing correct options. Jalal cited examples such as Question 146 of Set-1, which asked about the clock cycle time of a 4.00 GHz processor.
“The correct answer—0.25 nanoseconds—was not among the given options,” he said.
Similarly, in Question 110, about the province in which Iran’s Fordow Nuclear Enrichment Centre is located, the correct answer was also missing.
They also claimed that a number of questions had multiple correct answers.
“For example, in Question 120 of Set-1, which asked, ‘Which country is not a member of OPEC?’, both Indonesia and Bangladesh could be correct,” Jalal explained, adding that there were about 15–16 such problematic questions.
Further allegations surfaced regarding the use of different question sets in Khulna, which the candidates said raised “serious doubts about transparency and fairness.”
They also expressed frustration over what they described as the “lowest pass rate in recent BCS history.” Only 10,644 candidates passed the 47th preliminary exam — a sharp drop compared to the last eight BCS exams.
“The PSC must explain this unusually low success rate,” Jalal demanded.
At the event, the candidates placed nine specific demands before the PSC. These include increasing the number of qualified candidates to six to eight times the number of posts, publishing official answer keys and cut marks after exams, ensuring balanced question papers for all academic backgrounds, and publishing marks from all exam stages to ensure transparency.
They also urged amendments to the Non-Cadre Rules 2023 to allow qualified candidates to join other government or semi-government positions, the introduction of a migration and waiting-list system similar to university admissions, and the creation of a central database to prevent duplicate cadre recommendations.
Other demands include allowing re-checking of written exam scripts at a minimal cost and resolving technical issues, such as failures in Teletalk SMS notifications.
Concluding the briefing, the candidates stated, “We want jobs based on merit and transparency, not luck. If the PSC fails to act swiftly on these demands, we will be compelled to launch a larger and more vigorous movement.”
LND/SAE
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