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ISLAMABAD:
A Senate committee has urged the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) to allow Senior Central Services (CSS) candidates two attempts at the exam in a year and raise the upper age limit to 35 years.
The recommendation was made at a meeting of the subcommittee of the Senate Standing Committee on Cabinet Secretariat, held in Parliament under the chairmanship of Senator Saleem Mandviwala.
Representatives from the establishment and the FPSC participated in the meeting.
The session opened with a comprehensive briefing on the CSS competition, covering the current grading system, selection mechanism and evaluation cycle.
A major recommendation to come out of the meeting was the need to increase the number of exam attempts offered each year.
The committee argued that the current one-year attempt requires students to spread their preparation over four years, often losing eligibility due to age constraints.
It has been proposed that the FPSC should allow two attempts per year, similar to supplementary exams in other education systems, so that students do not lose years and can remain within the prescribed age brackets.
The FPSC stressed, however, that under the current paper-based evaluation system, such a change is not immediately feasible due to the time required to evaluate the program and finalize the results.
Another key recommendation made at the meeting was to raise the general upper age limit for CSS candidates to 35 years, taking into account various factors that contribute to students’ gap years.
The commission was informed that the selection test (based on MCQ) comprises 200 marks and serves only as a qualification stage. The written exam consists of 600 points for compulsory subjects, with a qualifying cut-off of 40 percent, and another 600 points for optional subjects, with a qualifying cut-off of 33 percent. This brings the total for the written exam to 1,200 points, for which candidates must score a total of 50 percent (600 out of 1,200) to qualify.
Those who pass the written stage move on to a psychological assessment, a medical examination and finally a 300-point defense, of which 100 points (33 percent) are required to pass. The overall merit award is based on a total of 1,500 points.
