The Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC) has taken steps to address the problem of candidates receiving repeated recommendations for the same cadre post in the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations, leaving valuable cadre positions vacant as a result.
Since taking office, the commission’s new chairman has issued specific instructions and launched initiatives to tackle the issue.
According to commission sources, the issue of repeat cadre appointments will receive particular attention when the final results of the upcoming 50th BCS examination are published.
In the BCS recruitment process, the term 'repeat cadre' primarily refers to candidates who, despite having already received a recommendation or secured final appointment to a particular cadre in an earlier BCS examination (such as the administration, police or education cadre) receive another recommendation for the same cadre in a subsequent examination.
As a result, these candidates do not take up the same position again, leaving valuable civil service posts vacant. Other jobseekers ultimately bear the cost of this practice.
Owing to these prolonged delays and inconsistencies, hundreds of qualified and talented candidates miss out on cadre appointments every year.
'Repeat cadre' issue under scrutiny, 44th BCS highlights the problem
The inconsistency surrounding repeat cadre appointments in BCS recruitment examinations has persisted for years.
However, the issue sparked considerable discussion and controversy following the publication of the 43rd BCS results and, in particular, the final results of the 44th BCS examination.
An analysis of data provided by the BPSC shows that, when the commission recommended 1,710 candidates against 1,710 vacant posts in the 44th BCS, nearly 400 of those selected were repeat cadre candidates.
In other words, they already held positions in various government cadres, and had received recommendations for the same cadre again. The presence of nearly 400 repeat cadre candidates in a single BCS examination posed a major administrative challenge for both the BPSC and the Ministry of Public Administration.
Following the incident, strong demands emerged for the commission to fill the posts associated with repeat cadre candidates by selecting new candidates from the waiting list according to merit.
50th BCS results to reflect actual vacancies
Although the authorities have previously amended the BCS rules to prevent repeat cadre appointments, the problem remains unresolved.
In many cases, candidates who qualify in two BCS examinations withhold information and secure another appointment to the same cadre, allowing the complication to persist. The commission is therefore taking practical measures to address the issue rather than relying solely on provisions on paper.
The final gazette notification for the 45th BCS has already been published, and the authorities have scheduled 1 November as the date for the recommended candidates to join their new posts.
Only after the candidates join their respective cadre positions will the authorities be able to determine how many actually take up their posts and how many vacancies remain.
According to BPSC sources, the exact number of candidates who have joined will be monitored after 1 November. It will then prepare the final recommendations for the 50th BCS based on verified vacancy figures, ensuring that new candidates can be appointed to the posts that remain vacant.
General jobseekers have welcomed the commission’s practical approach. Mizanur Rahman, a BCS candidate, told Prothom Alo, "Candidates like us face severe discrimination because of repeat cadre appointments. One person repeatedly sits the examinations while withholding information and occupies the same position, yet the post ultimately remains vacant."
"If the BPSC finalises its recommendations for the 50th BCS based on accurate figures for candidates joining the 45th BCS, the problem of vacant posts will be significantly reduced," he added.
In this regard, SM Matiur Rahman, the BPSC’s public relations officer, told Prothom Alo that the repeat cadre problem deprives countless qualified candidates of opportunities they deserve every year. He said the commission’s new chairman had made eliminating this inconsistency a top priority since taking office.
The commission will review the precise figures for candidates joining the 45th BCS on 1 November and incorporate them into the 50th BCS results, ensuring that no posts remain vacant and that deserving candidates receive their rightful opportunities.
Following the complications involving repeat cadre appointments in the 44th BCS, the BPSC took steps to amend the recruitment rules and submitted a proposal to the Ministry of Public Administration.
The proposed provision states that, while preparing the final results or submitting the final recommendations to the government, the commission may refrain from recommending a candidate again if it has information that the candidate is being nominated for the same cadre post or an equivalent position and is unwilling to join.
The proposal also allows the commission to select candidates further down the merit list to fill those vacant posts and publish a “supplementary result”.