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Applications for the 47th Bangladesh Civil Service examinations have opened to job seekers.
This year, the application fees have been reduced, as have the number of marks allocated to the oral portion of the examination, as per a bdnews24.com report.
The forms, which became available at 10 am, will be available until 11:59 pm on January 30, according to SM Matiur Rahman, a spokesman for the Public Service Commission, or PSC.
“The online application process started this morning,” said Md Niyamat Ullah, director (cadre) of the PSC’s Exam Wing.
“Applications can submit their forms from http://bpsc.teletalk.com.bd/”
The BCS application process was to start on December 10, but was later suspended as an official announcement regarding the reduction of fees had yet to be issued by the PSC.
On December 11, the Ministry of Public Administration issued a notice setting a new application fee of Tk 200 and clearing up the issue.
Candidates between the minimum age of 21 and the maximum age of 32 can apply for the 47th BCS.
In the notice, the PSC said the preliminary BCS exam may be held in May next year. The specific date, time, and instructions for the examination will be published on the commission's website and in the media as well.
In the preliminary examination, candidates will take part in a 200-mark multiple choice question (MCQ) examination. The exam time will be two hours. Candidates will get one mark for each correct answer and half a mark will be deducted for an incorrect answer.
The written examination of this BCS will be conducted in eight divisional cities. The oral examination will be held at the commission's head office. No applications for changing centres will be accepted.
On Wednesday, the Ministry of Public Administration amended the Bangladesh Civil Service (Age, Qualifications, and Examination for Direct Recruitment) Rules, 2014, reducing the application fee from Tk 700 to Tk 200.
For the disadvantaged groups, the fee was further reduced from Tk 100 to Tk 50.
In addition, the maximum age limit for applications has been raised from 30 to 32 years, while the score for the oral examination has been reduced from 200 to 100.
Appointments to 3,688 government jobs are up for grabs in the 47th BCS. Of them, 3,487 are cadre posts, while 201 are non-cadre.