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development initiatives, and increased stakeholder engagement.

Prof Saima made the comments at an event titled, “Transformation of Bangladesh Public Service Commission: Achievements, Challenges, and Way Forward” held at the Bangladesh-China Friendship Conference Centre in Sher-e-Bangla Nagar, Dhaka, yesterday evening.

During her presentation, she said the PSC currently enjoys only 10 percent autonomy. The commission has already submitted a draft amendment to the relevant law to increase its autonomy, but it is still awaiting approval, even after four months.

On the circular system, she said 55 percent of the work has already been completed. The commission has developed protocols and rubrics and has sought financial approval from the finance ministry. Once introduced, the circular system is expected to reduce the cost of each BCS exam by 51 percent.

Regarding the in-house digital printing press, Prof Saima said 95 percent of the tasks have been done. The project preparation and approval are finished, and installation is underway.

The commission has completed 20 percent of the work on setting up the assessment centre. Research on core competencies and Competency-Based Interview (CBI) training has already been conducted, with UNDP monitoring the overall installation and management process.

The PSC has also identified several issues in four previous BCS exams, which include process inefficiency, lack of infrastructure, and the risk of question leakage affecting both written and viva exams.

Additionally, the commission identified five underlying causes for the delay in completing the BCS process: question setting, printing dependency, lengthy script evaluation (taking eight to twelve months), viva procedures, and result processing and recommendation. These issues currently stretch the timeline to three and a half years.

Speaking as the chief guest at the event, Finance Adviser Salehuddin Ahmed acknowledged that the PSC must have both operational and financial autonomy to function effectively.

“We will try to ensure this … but we cannot provide full autonomy. Therefore, we will try to provide as much autonomy as possible to the PSC.”

Salehuddin assured that efforts would be made to strengthen the PSC and make it more transparent and meaningful for the country.

Law Adviser Asif Nazrul said, “During the previous regime, it was as if the PSC exams had been turned into private property.”

He also supported the proposal to hold a BCS exam every year. He added that the overwhelming rush for government jobs reflects a lack of opportunities elsewhere and a sharp disparity between public and private sector employment benefits.

He said the government is aware of the reform proposals and is committed to implementing them.

Power, Energy, and Mineral Resources Adviser Muhammad Fouzul Kabir Khan said the interim government has brought some fundamental changes, even if many people fail to notice them.

He stressed that 10 to 18 months is not enough to bring major economic or organisational change, but the interim government has still tried to move the country forward.

Delivering the welcome speech, Prof Mobasser Monem, chairman of PSC, said that since 2011, PSC has been made dependent on ministries, which has slowed down its work.

Monem urged the interim government to quickly grant PSC the authority to make its own rules and spend its budget directly, similar to the Election Commission.

Diepak Elmer, deputy head of mission at the Embassy of Switzerland in Bangladesh, Stefan Liller, resident representative of UNDP Bangladesh, Md Mokhlesur Rahman, senior secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration, PSC member Prof M Sohel Rahman, and its secretary Sanwar Jahan Bhuiyan also spoke at the event, among others.