PASSING a test on one occasion does not give a licence to any individual to do as he or she wishes for the rest of his/her life. The reference is to the that are conducted in Pakistan.

It is mind-boggling that on one occasion a candidate scores 150/200 in a certain subject and the next year does not score even 100/200 in the same discipline despite being better prepared. The element of luck has to be taken out because it is depriving many worthy people of their due position.

There have been instances where many candidates who had failed the provincial management test in 2009 qualified for the the same year by getting better marks in their optional subjects. It is an unfortunate situation. The FPSC needs to look into it.

There should be a GRE-based assessment exam prior to issuing role numbers to the candidates so that justice is done as there are chances of gross mistakes being committed when a teacher checks thousands of papers at a time.

The age limit should be relaxed so that PhDs and other learned people are inducted to serve in specialised fields like the Foreign Service, the accounts and commerce departments.

And most importantly the restrictions on the number of attempts must be done away with. Any candidate who is between 22 and 35-years-old and is taking a GRE-like exam conducted by international agencies should be allowed to appear for the CSS examination.

DR ATIF SALYANA
Lahore