The Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC) has been in turmoil over the past decade, plagued by allegations of question leaks in 30 critical recruitment exams, including the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS).
The Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) are investigating these longstanding irregularities. BPSC has also initiated its own internal investigation.
Following the government's fall, three BCS exams and the preparation of results were suspended, alongside the postponement of numerous departmental promotion exams, including for non-cadre positions.
Job aspirants are staging protests daily in front of the PSC, demanding the swift resumption of suspended exams and the release of results. In response, PSC officials, including the chairman, are reportedly resorting to leaving the office through back gates to avoid confrontations with protesters.
Despite the ongoing disruptions, PSC officials are preoccupied with drafting new recruitment rules that propose promotions for 50-70 per cent of positions in the ninth grade. Senior officials within the PSC have criticized these new rules as "irregular and unprecedented."
The quota reform movement escalated into violence, prompting the PSC to suspend recruitment exams from July 18.
The 44th BCS viva examination and the 46th BCS written examination were both halted. Although the 45th BCS written exam concluded, the evaluation process and other steps remain pending.
In addition to these suspensions, departmental promotion exams for employees have also been delayed. Most recently, the first half-yearly departmental exam for BCS cadre and non-cadre officers, scheduled for September 14, was postponed at the last minute. The practical exam for the post of 'Private Officer (Grade 10)' at the National Parliament Secretariat was similarly delayed, affecting thousands of officials.
Several recruitment results have also been delayed. For instance, results for nearly 1,000 posts of Junior Instructors under the Directorate of Technical Education remain unpublished, despite the exams being held long ago. Protests and hunger strikes by the candidates have not yielded any response from the PSC. The results of the Nursing and Midwifery recruitment exams are similarly stuck in limbo.
The PSC has come under fire after allegations of question leaks, which led to the temporary suspension of some officials and the formation of an investigation committee. However, following the fall of Sheikh Hasina's government, the PSC's administrative structure has weakened, with most members absent from office. This has reportedly opened the door for corrupt individuals to push for irregular promotions.
In one example, seven assistant directors who joined the service in 2018 have been marked as "deprived" by a special group, which has been fast-tracking their promotion to the post of Deputy Director, showcasing them reqruited in the Commission in 2013. PSC officials have described such promotions as "unprecedented."
Some PSC officials have further alleged that many of those promoted from lower ranks to ninth grade in recent years were involved in question leaks and other irregularities, which were substantiated by multiple investigations.
Yet, despite arrests and penalties, the PSC has proposed draft rules allowing 55-70 per cent of these officials to receive promotions. Meanwhile, 18 vacant posts for Assistant Directors remain unfilled from the previous BCS intakes. Concerns are mounting that these irregularities will only worsen if promotions proceed unchecked.
In July, a private television network aired an investigative report on PSC question leaks. CID identified several gangs involved and initiated arrests, which included both former and current PSC officials. PSC suspended the arrested individuals and formed a three-member investigation committee.
When approached by the Chairman Sohrab Hossain could not be reached for comment.
