13.

2 OUTLINE OF THE PROPOSED CSS EXAMINATION SYSTEM

1. The Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) is mandated under sub-section (1) of
Section 7 of the Federal Public Service Commission Ordinance, 1977, to conduct tests and
examinations for recruitment of persons to All-Pakistan Services, the civil services of the
Federation and civil posts in connection with the affairs of the Federation in basic pay scales
16 and above or equivalent.
2. The FPSC employs two methods of recruitment: (i) Central Superior Service (CSS)
Competitive Examination annually for posts belonging to 12 Occupational Groups under All-
Pakistan Service and civil services of the federation; and (ii) General Recruitment for selection
against other civil and ex-cadre posts in basic pay scale 16 and above in various Ministries, as
and when a requisition is furnished to the FPSC. The current structure of CSS Examination is
in vogue since 2000.
3. Currently, the Competitive Examination comprises of four components:
(i) Eligible candidates appearing in written examination comprising 6 compulsory
subjects (English Composition, English Essay, Pakistan Affairs, Current Affairs,
Everyday Science, Islamiat and 6 optional subjects to be selected out of 40 subjects.
(ii) Candidates qualifying the written examination are eligible to take (i) medical
examination; (ii) psychological examination; and (iii) viva voce.
4. The number of applicants for the CSS Examination has been rising unabated. It has
increased from 9,056 in CE-2009 to 24,008 in CE-2018, an increase of 165 percent. Out of this,
actual eligible candidates taking the Competitive Examination has risen from 5,707 in CE-2009
to 11,887 in CE-2018, a growth of 108 percent. This tremendous growth is generating various
challenges including: (a) checking around 12000 examination answer-sheets by an examiner
which compromises assessment objectivity; (b) completion of all four components and group
allocation takes around 14-16 months; however, some candidates, even after completing all
four components successfully, do not secure any group allocation because of non-availability
of vacancy; and (c) lowers the aggregate pass percentage every year due to higher denominator
(number of candidates taking the examination).
5. Many countries have reformed their civil service examination moving to use of modern
techniques for selection such as Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, South Korea, and
United Kingdom. Most SAARC countries while sticking to conventional written examination
have introduced screening Test before candidates can undertake main examination. India has
introduced Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination-Papers I and II of 200 marks each;
likewise, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Malaysia have introduced similar preliminary tests. This
filters non-serious candidates and allows only quality candidates to take the main examination.
It also helps in reducing the time cycle to complete the process.
6. Secondly, FPSC allocates Occupational Services/Groups to the successful candidates
based on their merit, candidates’ choice ranking and provincial quota. Nevertheless, there is a
general perception the current system results in a relatively skewed distribution of talent to
certain service groups and some important services get successful candidates who are quite low
in the merit list. Proposals have been in the field for conducting separate examination for each
service/group or cluster of services/groups inviting candidates with similar academic
background. Blending the CSS Competitive Examination with Domain Specific and/or Cluster
Based will allow induction of officers who are likely to have academic background. Many

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countries have now adapted domain based competitive examination or recruitment. The pros
and cons of this option are as under:
Pros:
• Close match between educational qualifications and requirement of the aspired job.
• Improved response to job-specific training.
• Greater potential for specialization in a particular field leading to enhanced
efficiency and professionalism.
• Transparent and merit based.
Cons:
• Reduction in talent pool and selection base.
• Reduction in career options as well as horizontal movement for candidates
• Talent may remain unevenly distributed.
7. The Federal Public Service Commission, after intense deliberations on the Task Force’s
recommendations, proposes the following:
(i) Civil Service Screening Test: A Civil Service Screening Test (CSST) of 200 Marks
of three hours twenty minutes duration may be introduced from Competitive
Examination-2020 with a qualifying threshold of 33 percent or 66 marks. Only the
candidates qualifying the CSST may be allowed to take the CSS Written Examination
of that year in the ratio of 1:20 subject to availability (top 20 qualifying candidates for
1 vacancy in respective domicile/quota). There will be no ceiling on number of attempts
for taking CSST within eligible age prescribed for the CSS Competitive Examination.
It will standardize the quality of candidates appearing in the CSS examination and will
reduce the time-cycle. Proposed Scheme of CSST is at Annex-I.
(ii) Proposed Clusters: The current 12 Occupational Services/Groups may be re-grouped
under three clusters: (a) Administrative and Diplomatic Services including PAS, PSP,
FSP, and OMG; (b) Finance and Accounts Services including IRS, PCS, C&T, PAAS;
and (c) Support Services including Postal, Railways, ML&CG, and Information Group.
(iii) Domain Specific and/or Cluster Based Examination: To ensure that the candidates
opting for different Occupational Services/Groups can demonstrate semblance of skills
and knowledge which are essential to meet the requirements of that Service/Group, it
is proposed that:
(a) All candidates will take four compulsory subjects of 300 Marks which may be
restructured as follows:
(i) English Precis and Composition 50 Marks
(ii) English Essay 100 Marks
(iii) Islamiyat or Comparative Study of Major Religions 50 Marks
(iv) Public Administration and Governance 100 Marks

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 (b) In addition to compulsory subjects, a candidate shall be required to take 9
subjects of 900 marks including (i) mandatory subjects prescribed for the
relevant domain preferred by him/her under Cluster I, II and III below; and (ii)
remaining subjects can be selected from the General List of Optional subjects
(Annex-V).
Cluster/Domain Specific Subjects
Cluster-I Marks Cluster-II Marks Cluster-III Marks
Pakistan
IRS/PCS/C&T
Administrative
Service Economics Postal/Railways
100 100 100
Economics Business Business Admin.
100 100
Administration
Political Science
100 100
Corporate Law
Law
PAAS
Police Service of ML&CG
Pakistan Accounting & Auditing-
100 I 100 Town Planning & 100
Political Science Urban
100 Accounting & Auditing- 100 Development
Criminology
II
100 100
Law
Business Admn.
Foreign Service of Information
Pakistan Group
International 100 Journalism & Mass 100
Relations Communication
100
International Law Sociology
100 100
Economics
Office Management
Group
100
Political Science
100
Economics

(c) Or A candidate may choose 9 subjects from Clusters I, II and III subjects to
make up 900 marks to become eligible for consideration for more than one
Service/Occupational Group. The proposed scheme is iterated below:
S.No. Subjects Chosen from Cluster I Marks Eligibility of a Candidate for
Consideration for:
1. Law 100 PAS
2. Economics 100

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 3. Political Science 100
4. Criminology 100 PAS, PSP
5. International Relations 100 PAS, PSP, FSP and OMG
6. International Law 100
Total 600
7. Business Administration 100 IRS, PCS, C&T, Postal Group and
Railways Group in addition to above
8. Corporate Law 100
9. Accounting & Auditing-I/II 100 PAAS in addition to above
OR Journalism and Mass Communication 100 Information Group
OR Town Planning and Urban 100 ML&CG
Development

Explanation
8. If a candidate aspires for PAS, he/she shall mandatorily take Economics, Political
Science and Law. In addition to this, (i) he/she can choose Criminology, International Relations
and International Law which will make him/her eligible for consideration for PAS, PSP and
FSP; (ii) he/she can choose Criminology, Business Administration and Corporate Law in
addition to above subjects to become eligible for consideration for PAS, PSP, IRS, PCS, and
C&T and so on.
(d) A candidate shall not be allowed to repeat the domain subject from the General
list of Optional Subjects.
(e) A Candidate shall not be allowed to opt for more one subjects from amongst
Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi, Persian and Arabic
OR
9. Alternately, all candidates may be asked to take a combination of domain related (a
minimum of three subjects) and six subjects in addition to compulsory subjects. The
disadvantage is that he/she will not be considered for more than one domain.
10. Federal Public Services Commission shall propose necessary enabling provisions in the
CSS Competition Examination Rules for vetting by the Ministry of Law and Justice to
operationalize the approved proposal and prescribe syllabus for each stage of the Examination
including Preliminary Examination and Domain based Competitive Examination and related
measures.
Psychometric Evaluation:
11. To determine candidates’ aptitude and motivation towards civil service, psychometric
evaluation of the candidates qualifying the written examination is now generally used in most
developed and developing countries. This system will help in augmenting the existing
Psychological Assessment System of FPSC which lacks the required skills-set as well as
requisite capacity. The FPSC proposes to commission a study and identify manpower, logistics

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and development of testing modules to implement this initiative. A PC-II will be prepared to
seek approval of the competent forum along with allocation of resources.
Automation and MIS in FPSC.
12. The exponential increase in the workload of the FPSC during the last five-seven years
makes it is essential to digitalize the whole system of the Commission including Computer
Based Testing, developing in-house Questions Bank, Case Studies, and equip it with modern
tools and techniques. While the Commission has been undertaking internal reforms, it is
important to transform the Commission. Research and Development capacity of FPSC also
needs to be enhanced. To achieve this objective, it is proposed that a comprehensive scheme is
prepared separately for seeking approval of the concerned forum.

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13.3 AGREED REFORMS IN CSS EXAMINATION
1. The Prime Minister’s Task Force on Civil Service Reform has proposed reforms in the
CSS examination system to include a screening test for determining problem solving and
analytical abilities, psychometric evaluation to determine the aptitude and motivation towards
civil service and domain specific written exam separate for clusters. Each cluster is proposed
to have subjects relevant with respective occupational groups / services. Allocations have to be
linked with passing the exam of respective cluster.
2. After inclusive deliberations and multiple consultation sessions with the Task Force,
the Commission recommends following measures for adoption and implementation of the
reform proposals:
i. Screening Test: It is direly needed to introduce a preliminary screening test for CSS
Competitive Examination. It will bring the number of candidates to a manageable scale,
substantially curtail the CSS exam time scale cycle, and will save logistic hassle / costs.
It will also help to improve standardization in assessment besides improving
applications versus appearance ratio. The contents of the screening test, sifting
mechanism from all quotas and relevant details have been worked out in draft
amendment rules. The screening test may be implemented w.e.f. CSS CSS 2020.
ii. Domain specific cluster-based exam: Keeping in view the need to bring some kind of
academic relevance to the opted service group and the sheer number of candidates
giving preference to certain occupational groups within the CSS cadres, it is proposed
to segregate the CSS cadres into three clusters and to allocate mandatory subjects for
each cluster having a nexus with the general functions of the respective services. The
move is likely to push the selection process from a very broad generalisation to a certain
degree of domain specification.
iii. Psychometric evaluation: To determine candidates’ aptitude and motivation towards
civil service, FPSC intends to gradually introduce psychometric evaluation to augment
the existing Psychological Assessment System. However, FPSC currently lacks the
capacity to implement the same as the requisite skill sets are scarce even in the local
market. A detailed study would be required to institute and strategize implementation
of this initiative.
iv. System Automation / MIS: The exponential and disproportionate increase in the
number of applicants, archaic paper-based system of subjective examinations and
limited use of I.T. etc. are some of the challenges that the Commission seeks to address.
To serve its clientele with credibility in a transparent and effective manner, the
Commission suggests addition of ICT based initiatives relating to Computer Based
Testing (CBT) and Development of Question Bank. Research and Development
capacity of FPSC also needs to be enhanced. A proposal has been worked out and a
PC-I will be initiated for it in case of approval.

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Current status
3. The proposal for introducing these changes in the CSS exam are being finalized by
Establishment Division in consultation with the FPSC. Due to transfer of Secretary,
Establishment and sudden death of Chairman FPSC with Covid-19, the deliberations have
taken longer than usual. Once finalized, Establishment Division will submit the case for
introducing these changes in the CSS Examination.

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 Annex-I
Proposed Scheme for Civil Service Screening Test (CSST)
1. The CSST shall consist of one paper of 200 marks.
2. Duration of the Test shall be three hours twenty minutes
3. The CSST shall be based on Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), each carrying one
mark, and will examine the candidates in the following subjects:
Subjects Sub-Percentage Percentage
English (Grammar Usage, Comprehension, Vocabulary) 30
General Abilities 30
Section 1. Basic Arithmetic, Algebra & Geometry 10
Section 2. Logical Problem Solving and Analytical Abilities 10
Section 3. Mental Abilities 10
General Knowledge 30
Section 1. Everyday Science 10
Section 2. Current Affairs 10
Section 3. Pakistan Affairs 10
Islamiat or Comparative Study of Major Religions 10
Total 100

4. The Federal Public Service Examination shall notify the Syllabi for CSST separately
for wide dissemination.
5. The topics listed in the syllabus are only indicative for the general guidance of the
candidates and cannot be deemed as exhaustive list.
6. There will be no limit on the number of times a candidate can appear for the Screening
Test if he or she is within the age limit prescribed for the CSS Competitive
Examination. The three chances for the candidates to appear in the main examination
will remain intact.
7. The standard of question would be what is expected of a person who, has a keen sense
of awareness and is knowledgeable, without having done any specific subject
specialization.
8. The threshold for qualifying CSST shall be 33 percent marks or 66 marks.
9. Answer sheets shall be marked through Optical Mark Reader Scanners to achieve
optimal level of efficiency and accuracy.
10. Candidates not qualifying the CSST shall not be eligible to take the main CSS
Examination

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11. The CSST shall be only for the purposes of selecting candidates who would be eligible
to take the Main CSS Examination and the marks obtained in the CSST shall not be
counted towards the final merit of the candidates.

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