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Old Sunday, January 08, 2017
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Default Observations on Performance of Candidates in Written Part of CSS Examination 2016

Examiner’s Report

Examination : C.S.S-2016


I. Compulsory Subjects


A. ESSAY:- Majority of the candidates attempted the paper in such a way that ideas were not coherent, organized or focused on the topic. Random thoughts were brought together without any logical reasoning or research based facts and arguments. There was lack of creativity which might be expected of candidates appearing in the competition exam.

The demands of the topics was to build an argument from multiple angles and substantiate it with facts and figures however, a large majority of the candidates incorporated formulaic and crammed up material in the essays.

Most of the candidates did not fulfill the criterion of required length. The essays were also replete with errors of grammar, spellings and punctuation in fact there was not a single script which was error free.

The outlines of the essays were not properly structured. Either they were brief or if they were detailed, most of the time, the aspects mentioned in the outlines were not discussed in the essays.

Overall, the standard of the scripts was dismal and highly unsatisfactory.

B.English (Précis & Composition):- Undoubtedly, many students are nervous about writing in a foreign language. This can lead to error. Assessing candidate’s English Language ability can be a minefield, especially in the face of potential socio-academic pressures prevalent at the institutions of higher education. The outcome of this assessment, apparently, is not very encouraging as the majority candidates appeared unable to tackle the questions in a befitting manner.

The candidates were required to reproduce a piece of writing in response to a certain paragraph to get an idea of their précis writing ability to know that to what extent they could reflect precisely on the given piece of writing in syntactically correct English language but most of the candidates failed to write précis in the third person and past tense; they lacked vocabulary along with an objective approach and produced précis in paragraphs’ form by writing it in direct speech violating the norms of précis writing. Similarly, translation is a technical task that requires hands-on skills. But it was found that majority candidates did no possess strong command over syntax, phraseology and etymology of words to effectively translate the given Urdu paragraph into true meaning. The candidates were also engaged to solve some grammar related intricacies but majority:
a) Showed weak knowledge and application of writing conventions such as capitalization and punctuation;
b) Demonstrated frequent spelling mistakes;
c) Produced writing that has not been a joy to read;
d) Lacked language arts skills especially in the areas of conveying their thoughts and ideas clearly;
e) Wrote sentences that conveyed incomplete thoughts; and
f) Reflected a weak grasp of organization in their writing.
Some possible causes for the errors/mistakes experienced while marking the scripts:
1. The candidates were not ready to produce the linguistic construction at their level.
2. The language required from them might have been beyond their expectation.
3. Over-generalization.
4. Bad models.
5. First language interference.
Hence, it is imperative to communicate institutions of higher education to take required academic measures to enhance English language proficiency of the graduates because we must not forget that results are one more piece of information that can be helpful in determining future directions. Organizations which are data-informed will use assessment data to reflect on their practice, identity areas to modify and adjust, and seek out the resources and knowledge needed to enact those changes.

C. ISLAMIC STUDIES
1. Answer books were received in a good condition.
2. Question paper reflected the whole prescribed syllabus.
3. Majority of the students solved all the required questions.
4. Out of these students 2% were extraordinary, 3% were excellent, 20% were vey good, 30% were good, 40% were ordinary and 5% were failure.
5. Extra ordinary students quoted the references from various books.
6. Knowledge of the failure students were not up to mark.
7. Some students did not follow the instruction given on the question paper, e.g. writing question number properly.
8. Most of the students wrote Ahadis and Quranic Ayyah in a wrong way, which shows their poor command over Arabic. Students need to improve their Arabic Writing skills.
D.Comparative study of Major Religious. (Non Muslim):-It is apprised the authorities concerned that all instructions and SOPs have been complied with and the marking has been done as per the guideline provided by Federal Public Service Commission.

The overall understanding of the subject and comprehension of the question paper by the candidates is high average. The standard of the answer is also high average. One candidate has attempted his paper in Sindhi language and failed.

The question of interfaith harmony has been attempted by 90% candidates which is highly appreciated. The importance of the subject is evident and useful for the non-Muslim candidates.

II . Optional Subjects


(i). Accountancy & Auditing, Paper-I :-Generally the examinees were not good at accounting. The performance was below average due to lack of basic accounting concepts and principles and poor knowledge of business transactions. I was surprised to see the performance of the examinees in such a high profile exam. It seems they were not examinees, however, could performed better.

Section A
Question 2. Preparation of financial statement: Most of the examinees treated payment of dividend as normal business expense; treated unearned revenue as an asset and instead of preparing statement of retained earning, prepared the statement of equity.

Question3. Dissolution of partnership: Generally examinees had no knowledge of opening a “Realization Account” for determining the loss/gain on disposal of assets to transfer it to partners’ capital account.

Question 4(a). Double declining depreciation method: Mostly examinees had no knowledge of this method and applied straight line depreciation method.
Question 4(b). Ratios computation: it was a very simple question and examinees generally performed better in this question.

Section B

Question 5(a). Preparation of cost of goods manufactured and sold statement and income statement. Generally performance was better in this question.
Question 5(b). Proration of service department over heads to production department through algebraic equation. Generally the knowledge of this equation was found lacking. This question was solved with step method that was also accepted for grading this question.

Question 6(a). Labor incentive plan. Generally examinees had poor knowledge of labor incentive plan. They mistakenly multiplied labor hourly rate with number of units for calculating the incentive.
Question 6(b). Cost flow in job order costing system: Generally examinees showed poor performance in determining the cost of opening work in process, finished goods and cost of goods sold.

Question 7(a). Breakeven: Generally examinees were found unfamiliar with the concepts. Some of them were able to calculate only the contribution margin and loss, but could not calculate the product-wise breakeven sale.

Question 8. Process costing: Requirement of the question was to apply weighted average cost method in process costing for which examinees had no concept. They applied first in first out method. Very few could solve it correctly.

(ii). Accountancy & Auditing, Paper-II:-Overall paper comprised of three parts, Part(1) was an objective (MCQs), Part-II (Subjective was further comprised of three sections, Section-A was about Auditing (3 questions) and Section-B was about Business Taxation (2 questions) and Section-C was about Business Studies and Finance (2 Questions).

In subjective paper, total 7 questions were given, students were required to answer any five questions, at least one question from each section. All questions carry equal marks.

Overall majority of the students showed poor knowledge about the subject, but so

Q. No. 2: This question was about the control objectives that an auditor should consider in the absence of internal control system of an entity. Majority of the students provided the list of overall Internal control objectives and could no attempt the question within the specific context i.e. absence of internal control system, hence got very poor marks. However, minority of the students gave the answer keeping in view the context and attempted within the lenses of auditor’s consideration i.e. control objectives.

Q. No. 3: This question was about the materiality and its significance in planning performing an audit in relation to ISA-30. Majority of the students provided knowledge about the materiality and its general significance. However, they did not answer the question keeping in view the significance of materiality in the context of audit planning and performance. At the contrary, a small number of students explained the question in the context of audit planning and performance, hence awarded accordingly.

Q. NO.4: This question was about Auditor’s consideration in audit planning and performance when the financial statements of entity were prepared according to international accounting standards. In response to this question, majority of the students explained the importance of international accounting standards for preparation of financial statements. Some students provided book knowledge of audit planning and performance. Whereas, very few from majority of students answered the question accordingly to the required context of audit planning and performance.

Q. No.5: This question was from section-II, business taxation. Part-(a) of the question was about Income from property and the possible deduction allowed in this regard. Many students provided a poor concept about the income from property and deductions. There were some students who provided satisfactory answer of this question. But overall response was poor. Part (b) of the question was a numerical, requiring the calculation of taxable Income and Tax payable. Majority of the students attempted this part in a good way.

Q. No. 6: This question was also from business taxation, especially about sales tax. Part (a) of this question was about the Sales Tax registration and legal provisions about sales tax registration. Majority of the students from those who attempted this question provided just a story type information in this part. However some students provided a satisfactory response. Part(b) was a numerical and in this part, a considerable number of students just reproduced the question statement as it is. An unsatisfactory number of students attempted this question in an excellent way and were rewarded best.

Q. No.7: This question was from business studies and finance section. Part (a) of this question was about contemporary challenged faced by business. Majority of the students, who attempted this question, provided a satisfactory answer of this part. Part (b) of the question was a numeric problem, about the calculation of cost of capital using CAPM. A poor response of this part was received from majority of the students. A few students attempted this part in an excellent way. It seems that students have poor knowledge and lack of practice about finance calculations.

Q. No.8: Part (a) of the question was about the business cycle and its implication. Half of the majority students just explained business cycle phases but without its proper business implication. Moreover, Rest of the majority attempted this question in poor way i.e. instead of given the knowledge on business cycle provided the concept of accounting cycle.
Part (b) was from time value of money, requiring the calculation of effective annual rate (EAR) and future value of bank deposits and finally requiring a suggestion about bank deposit.
Majority of the students provided satisfactory calculations of future value, but poor calculation of EAR. Just calculations were provided and nothing was suggested about decision making.

(iii).AGRICULTURE AND FORESTRY: -Most candidates thought that Agricultural and Forestry was a subject that needed no preparation. Many had ZERO marks out of Eighty (80). A graduate is expected to score at least some marks even without preparation.

Some students were not serious. One of them kept repeating the questions and consumed many pages with only questions.

Candidates had either knowledge of ’Range Management’ and ‘Livestock production’. Many could not write a few sentences on ‘Grain storage’ or ‘environmentally controlled poultry houses’.

I suggest that there should be a qualifying round for the candidates before they are allowed to sit in CSS examinations.

(iv). APPLIED MATH:-
1. I am very much disappointed with the result of this paper of Applied Mathematics. Total 105 candidates appeared in the examination. Only 17 candidates got marks 40% and above. 88 candidates obtained marks below 40%, out of which 55 candidates got zero marks. The maximum marks obtained by a candidate are 73.

2. The question paper was set according to the guidelines of FPSC covering the whole syllabus. The candidates were asked to attempt any 5 questions out of 8. Furthermore, no sections were made in the question paper.

3. Although the minimum eligibility condition to appear in the competitive examination is graduation (i.e. B.A. /B.Sc etc), but some topics were of much higher level than that of B.A. /B.Sc. the candidates have hardly attempted the questions on Advanced Vector Analysis, Fourier Series and Partial Differential Equations because these topics are not of B.A. /B.Sc level.

(v.)ARABIC:-
• Majority of the candidates are lacking the ability of reading, writing and speaking Arabic.
• Reference to Q.4, the candidates do not have proper study of the literary aspects of the Quran.
RECOMMENDATIONS
1. In public and private sector universities, teaching of Arabic shall be made mandatory in the respective Language.
2. In graduate and undergraduate level qualified and professionally skilful teacher’s appointment is required.
3. Special 3-6 month compulsory training/refresher courses are needed to be arranged under HEC.
(vi).ANTHROPOLOGY: - Overall the candidates performed very well and about 90% papers were relevant to the subject of Anthropology. Their understanding of the subject was upto the mark. Writing skill of the 90% students was clear, accurate and up to the standard.

However, about 10% of the students attempted the questions based on their general knowledge and not exactly from the Anthropological readings.

(vi).Botany:- I have assessed and marked 105 answer scripts of Botany paper . Followings are my observations
I. In general the performance of the candidates was not good. Only a few candidates performed well.

II. In some cases the handwriting was not readable.

III. The question No.6 concerning the diagnostic characters of family poaceae. In this question we have asked the diagnostic character of family poaceae instead of giving the diagnostic character, the candidates has given detailed description, which was not required. Diagnostic mean only those important characters which are necessary for easily identification and reorganization of family. Moreover, the candidates have given wrong examples of species of family poaceae. Mostly they have given example of pea species which is not a member of this family. It belong to family of abacus In general the examples for species, in economic importance were also not correct.

IV. Question No.5, palynology, the study of pollen whereas the candidates described it as study of fossil plants, which is wrong.

V. The candidates have no idea about the taxonomic key and numerical taxonomy.

VI. The diagrams were of very poor quality.
(vii).British History :- I received 230 scripts for marking. Some of the scripts were up to the mark but overall standard was very low.

(viii).Business Administration. (The Guidelines/SOP given by FPSC have been followed in checking 1353 Answer Books and in writing the Examiner’s Report)

1. The Questions of all subjects in the ‘Business Administration’ paper were formulated from the syllabus, recommended books and guidelines provided by FPSC.

2. The answers were checked against the relevant material given in the recommended books from which the Questions were formulated.

3. Generally, the quality, contents and presentation of most of the answers were found to be unsatisfactory particularly when gauged against the standard expected from candidates appearing in the Country’s prestigious FPSC’s Competitive Exam

4. In my assessment, the reason for poor performance of candidates in the Exam is their lack of adequate preparation.

5. Candidates’ proficiency for the Exam could be improved by providing them relevant guidelines/instructions for preparation for the Exam and answering the questions therein.
6. Eligibility criteria for the candidates should also be raised to screen out those with poor academic background.

(ix).Chemistry, Paper-I:-
Comments for the candidates
Generally, the candidate’s performance was extremely poor. The paper contained questions that relate to important topics within the syllabus and contained no “surprise” items that should have caused a problem for a well prepared candidate who had carefully examined the content and had taken time to comprehend the knowledge of the subject matter. Most candidates attempted and answered Question 5 and 8 correctly, weak in conveying on paper core concepts of physical chemistry properly, lack in-depth knowledge of Advance topics of inorganic chemistry (Question 6,7) When taking future exams it is important that the following points are understood and acted upon.
Candidates:
  • Must examine the official questions from previous papers to confirm the depth of knowledge required to answer questions
  • Must pay particular attention to the layout of answers
  • Should clearly indicate if part of the answer to a question appears later in the answer book
  • Must answer the question, not the question they would like it to have been.

The following observations were made when reviewing the scripts.

•The entire syllabus had not been studied
•The progressive nature of the performance pillar had not been respected
•Many candidates were not prepared for the exam
•The content of previous exams had not been digested
•The candidates’ level of basic chemistry was generally poor
The following points should be noted by candidates when reflection on the paper just taken, and when preparing for future CSS Chemistry examinations:
1. Due to the progressive nature of the performance pillar candidates sitting in the CSS examination are advised to closely examine the syllabi of the Chemistry paper I and to ensure they have a thorough understanding of all the topics covered in those papers. Any identified knowledge gap must be addressed.
2. Candidates should always practice time management and relate the time they expend on each question to the marks available.
3. Candidates are advised to read the content topics by relating them to their applications in the real world
4. Candidates are advised to understand the rubric of the paper and plan their attempts accordingly.
5. Answers to explanatory questions should relate to the scenario in the question. On many occasions general answers are submitted that attract few marks.
6. Candidates are advised to present answers in a clear and logical fashion i.e. clear and legible handwriting.
(x).Chemistry, Paper-II:-
1. While attempting the paper of chemistry, the students/candidates have shown non seriousness which might be due to considering it a try for optional subject.

2. Chemistry is a technical paper/subject but the candidates have attempted the paper with lot of irrelevant contents like an essay or story. While attempting technical subject papers, the candidates must be précised and confined to the topic.

3. A few candidates (3-4 only) have attempted the answer No.8 (spectroscopy) which reflects that candidates have ever neglected this topic and are appeared with selective studies whereas question No. 3&5 (reaction mechanism has also been attempted poorly)

4. Recommended books as suggested by FPSC are more than enough for the course outline. The main drawback is reading of text books as well as selective studies.


(xi)Criminology:- Criminology as an elective paper had been introduced for the first time in Federal Public Service Commission Competitive Examination -2016. Total 795 candidates opted for criminology subject, which is very encouraging. 80% of the candidates performed very well, their concepts were clear and they attempted the paper nicely. Among them 20% gave the references also. 20% of the candidates who attempted the questions seemed that they just opted for criminology as a new subject with the realization that general knowledge will help them.

Suggestion:
The candidates who would like to opt for criminology should study law and social sciences including sociology, social work and psychology. Thorough study is needed.


(xii).Economics (Paper-I):- (i) Generally, the performance of candidates was poor. Almost 80% papers were attempted non-seriously and without any preparation. The candidates have relied mostly on their general knowledge instead of understanding the nature of questions i.e. theoretical, policy perspective or empirical ones.

(ii) The unnecessary details must be avoided and the answers should worth of the total marks in the questions. The empirical questions must provide the required derivations, graphs and tables. The candidates should understand that this one is a theory and policy paper and the questions are prepared within the syllabus so they should avoid writing their own understanding.

(iii) Question No.4 was a poor attempt. This was about theories of inflation and unemployment but candidates attempted it, specially, for Pakistan’s experience of inflation pre and post-70’s.

(iv) Approved scheme of studies available on HEC website for references.

(xiii).Economics (Paper-II):In this paper, while marking the scripts I have observed the following facts:-
1. Some applicants renumber the questions

2. Rather than analysing the practical problems faced by Pakistan Economy as asked in the question, candidates give the theoretical explanation of the situation.

3. The English language used by most of the candidates contains grammatical mistakes.

4. Rather than critically evaluating an asked situation, the candidates generally state reasons for the situation at hand.

5. Some candidates leave blank lines within the answers to waste the paper and give the impression that they have provided the full details
  • It is therefore, recommended that use of additional sheets should not be allowed.
  • It is further recommended that the candidates be given the option to write answers in Urdu language so that quality of answers could be improved.

(xiv). English Literature:- After checking the papers of ENGLISH LITERATURE, I have been able to identify four categories of papers, and hence four types of candidates:

1. There is a greater tendency in majority of the candidates to read summaries of the specified text, i.e., lack of thorough preparation. As a result, they ignore two very important aspects while answering the question:
  • a. They do not focus on what is asked; rather they reproduce the summary they have already read. The answers are, therefore, superficial and lack depth.
  • b. They are unable to back their argument by any supporting evidence from the text.

2. There are candidates whose written expression is a matter of grave concern. These are the candidates who know the text well and are able to grasp what is asked, but are not able to pen down their answer/s using correct grammatical structures. As a result, their score is not satisfactory at all.

3. Then there are candidates with very good expression and sound knowledge of the text, but they have attempted lesser number of questions. These candidates could have very easily scored higher. This deficiency also points to fact that through preparation has not been made.

4. There are many candidates who have simply no idea of the text, but they have written whatever seemed appropriate to them without taking care of relevance and requirement. This category has scored lowest marks.

5. In addition I would like to draw the attention of candidates to the fact that writing an unnecessarily long answer does not guarantee good marks. The candidates must bear this in mind that any answer which does justice to the question asked and marks allocated, is worthy of consideration and good marks.

(xv).European History:- Majority of the students fall below the standard. This is because of many deficiencies and inadequacies as reflected in their papers. Generally, the students lacked critical thinking, had poor understanding of the subject, and used inappropriate expressions and demonstrated poor English writing skills.

Coming to the specific deficiencies I would point out that the candidates either did not know how to attempt the question paper or they lacked in depth knowledge/understanding of the subject. For example most of them even could not understand the focus of the questions. They have been asked about “the connection between the ideas of French Philosophers and the French Revolution” but in their answers they discussed/enumerated all the causes of the revolution, and briefly touched real point. Same is the case with the question on the unification of Germany and Italy. Some of the candidates tried to fill the belly of the answers with the irrelevant detail.

This also reflects on the deteriorating standards of education in the county. HEC’s must be informed that it should work to improve standards not just by simply monitoring and offending system like TTS but also by continuously by amending and improving the rules and regulations where required. Some shall apply to the provincial educational departments.


(xvi).ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCE: - The undersigned was honoured to set the very first Question paper for the competitive examination. The number of candidates, who opted the subject, was highly unexpected (1075 candidates).

The range of obtained marks varies and quite a high number of candidates performed extra ordinarily besides the feeling that many might have opted it, received quite poor scores. Some of the candidates performed unbelievably and the answer sheets were very impressive. Assuming as a very general subject and consequently.

(xvii). GEOGRAPHY:- The following points are noted as an examiner.
•Poor concepts in physical as well as in human geography. (Question No. 02, 03, 04, 06)
•Irrelevant attempts. (Question No. 02, 03, 04 , 06)
•Poor in language skill.
In this context, my considered opinion is the eligibility qualification should be MS/M.Phil level.

(xviii). GOVERNANCE AND PUBLIC POLICIES: - Most of the candidates have neither any concept nor any understanding of the subject. They failed to offer proper answers to the questions, and general tendency is that they have written matter not relevant to the questions. The Question No. 4, in particular, was poorly attempted and most of the candidates failed to distinguish between the two concepts. The overall performance of the candidates was not at all up to the mark.

It is suggested that the candidates should consult proper text books instead of relying on their own observations and analyses, and any irrelevant material from the newspapers or other sources.

(xix).HISTORY OF PAKISTAN AND INDIA:- The observations about the results of CSS papers are as under:
  • The result was average in this year. Some papers were excellent. Some were very pathetic and poor.
  • The number of non-serious students was large in this year. Those who wrote 2/3 pages in the answer of 4 questions.
  • Every year the paper and choice in the selection of questions is 50/50 but the student never get this point. The reason probably is lengthy syllabus starting from 712 and ends on 1857. The students may not be able to prepare the whole course.

Recommendations
  • We may alter the course according to the need of time.
  • Writing skill must have extra marks so the student may focus on the writing as well.
  • Addition of some good books is the suggested readings.

(xx).INTERNATIONAL LAW :-The standard of the answers in the paper of International Law was generally poor. However a few students performance was excellent.

The course outline of International Law is quite OK. I do not feel any need of change in it at the moment. Poor output in this subject, perhaps resulted from the poor teaching of this subject in the universities and postgraduate college. They may be asked for its improvement.

(xxi).Islamic History & Culture: - I have examined the answer sheets of the students. The questions asked for were analytical and descriptive. The students could not reach to that standard. They focused on one book and specified knowledge. However, some of the candidates satisfied the examiner. The students should be active in attaining knowledge from international and national Generals/Magazine. They should boost their mental capacity and must be free of knowledge of Islamic studies and political, social and everyday knowledge. The students at large could not answer the questions as were asked.

(xxii).Journalism & Mass Communication :- The report is as under:

(i) Overall it was satisfactory performance by the candidates except few students who tried to bluff by gossiping/ deliberate illegible writing or irrelevant material based answers.

(ii) It also observed that majority of students relied on bookish knowledge but the nature of questions were practical targeting analysis of the current situations and suggesting reasonable solutions.

(iii) The candidates should not solely rely on theoretical portion but should also focus on the coverage of media to important current issues, scenarios and developments taking place in the country or world level.

(iv) The Question No 2 was about mass media set of theories which explain effects on society in term of powerful, moderate, or limited effects, which was wrongly taken as general effects by majority of the students. Similarly in Question 7 the term spin doctor was not clearly understood by the most of the candidates.

(v) Question No 4 was about globalization of media industry which was attempted as globalization in general.

(vi) It is recommended that candidates should attempt the questions in parts with clear headings and examples as required in the question e.g. what is functional approach,
Ideal role of mass media and ways to overcome sensationalism are three separate parts but majority of the students attempted it as a whole.

(vii) Remarks are also given on the front page of the answer books as and when required.

(xxiii).LAW: - By and large, the candidates had no concept of LAW. Most of the answers are irrelevant and attempted in a lukewarm manner.

The syllabus of the paper is apparently too lengthy to be gone through for one paper. This aspect may be considered at commission level.

(xxiv). Mercantile Law: - Every effort was made to follow the general instructions provided to the Examiners for evaluating the answer sheets. However, certain observations came to knowledge which sum as under:-

1. As overall attempt of the candidates was quite disappointing. Majority of the candidates did not know about Mercantile Law.

2. As a matter of fact the new syllabus of Mercantile law was quite comprehensive and irrelevant that confused the candidates. I wonder who designed the syllabus.

3. It was unfortunate to note that majority of candidates attempt was superficial and irrelevant. They were unable to answer the questions by quoting relevant sections.

4. This is a fact that our English is quite poor and the English of the candidates in this paper was no exception.
5. Finally it is suggested that if courses of Banking Laws are deleted, the rest of the reading list is quite up to the mark.


(xxv).PHILOSOPHY : -The overall quality of papers was average, through some of the papers were very good. Many of the candidates wrote completely irrelevant answers. It is suggested that the candidates, appearing in Philosophy or any other course, must read authentic books, research papers and e-sources.

(xxvi).Physics-II :- The performance of majority of the candidates was not satisfactory. They did not prepare themselves seriously for the examination. Vast majority failed to attempt even very basic questions. For example they were not familiar with the basic postulates of the quantum mechanics. Instead they were stressing on the basic difference between quantum mechanics and classical mechanics. None of them have the comprehensive knowledge about fundamental particles. Some of the candidates were lacking in problem solving although they successfully developed the required mathematical relations. Most of them expressed poor communication and lacked technical knowledge with poor vocabulary and weak grammar. Probably, the faculty teaching the courses did not deliver the expected knowledge to the students at their school/college and University level.

The results are a sad reflection of our fast declining education standard at all levels. Both the public and private sector universities are responsible for this alarming decline in the educational standard since they have made education a business. In order to improve the situation, I strongly recommended that English proficiency level must be raised at college and university levels to be in step with contemporary requirement of their profession and day to day life. Candidates should read standard books on fundamental concepts of Physics. Authorities must find ways to improve teaching standard in the education institutions.

(xxvii).POLITICAL SCIENCE, PAPER-I :- After marking the entire scripts, the following aspects regarding the performance of candidates have been noted:

1. Only 5 to 10% candidates attempt shows that they have the basic knowledge about the subject.

2. Majority lack of coherence in their answers which manifested their poor reading habits as well as lack of writing practice.

3. A very high majority knows nothing about modern political concepts which was specially observed during the marking of the answers regarding the concept of End of History, civil society, women empowerment. It exhibits lacking of reading habit among the students which is quite deplorable.

(xxviii).Psychology:- After checking all copies, it can be said that the performance in general is poor. Some of the candidates have just sit in exam without having any knowledge of the subject, while other tried to solve the paper thinking as if psychology is a subject of general knowledge.
Some of the students however did well and had good knowledge of the subject. The main weakness was command of language which is English.

The course outline is good but the question is, who are the students with a background of psychology or just anybody who desires to appear in the exam. It is suggested that paper like psychology should be allowed to only students who study the subject from intermediate to graduation level.

(xxix).PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION :- In my opinion the general performance of all candidates, boring some, was not up to the standards achieved by such candidates in the past. I have observed that there is a marked deterioration in the ability of candidates to firstly comprehend the question and two, to construct an answer. Most questions were set as analytical questions which the candidates tried to answer through note.

The major weakness of the candidates, even the ones how have scored higher works, is language.

Their use of the English Language was at best pedestrian. Their structure of the language was poor with no concept of the mechanics, punctuations and tenses etc.

(xxx).PURE MATHEMATICS :- The paper was set out from the prescribed syllabus. However, it appears from the assessment of the candidates that most of them are either not in touch with the subject or ignorant of the recommended subject contents.
In nut shell, over ate performance of the candidate is marked as un-satisfactory.

(xxxi).SINDHI :- Majority of candidates have studied the subject through guides, therefore, their analysis is quite weak. They should be advised to refer original books not their keys or guides.

(xxxii).SOCIOLOGY :- I was astonished to read the answer books that majority of students/candidates were not serious to attempt the paper. Candidate’s understanding toward subject was poor. So, FPSC should exercise the screening test. Only those candidates come in final stage who are serious.

(xxxiii).Statistics:- Following observations are noted during the marking of question:-

(i)Many candidates tried to solve the questions without focusing on questions in mind. For example repeating the same words many times, giving their own questions numbering and trying to give wrong reply. They tried to impute the answers whether it was related or not to the given questions

(ii)Many candidates did not obey the rules and regulation which were mentioned on answer book sheets.

(iii)Many candidates were much weaker and it looks that they have no fully command on the subject.

2. Generally the performance o the candidates was very poor which need extensive study.

(xxxiv).Town planning and Urban Management: - I appreciate the commission’s decision to incorporate the subject of “Town planning urban management” in the list of papers for CSS examination. It is really a wise decision as majority of the successful candidates select DMG as their career and work as a policy makers for the physical development of the country. Therefore, they must have an idea for spatial planning and development. The country is in intense need of such a policy makers who can foresee the appropriateness of various programs. The introduction of this subject will surely increase understanding of snail process of development in Pakistan. A good syllabus need to be formed for it, so that candidates may not only understand the concepts but could better analyze and synthesize the development prospects of Pakistan.
Here is a brief review of the present (2016) papers attempted by the candidates
•Writing standard of the candidates for attempting questions is not remarkable
•Conceptually they are very weak. Majority (95%) have developed their own meaning to various concepts of town planning asked in the question paper
•Majority (80-85%) have not even understood the questions correctly, being asked in the paper. Particularly in case of question No. 3, 4 and 5.
•The attempted questions are more inclined towards output rather than outcome. The candidates were neither precise nor to the point.
•Majority of the candidates were very weak in grammar and sentence structure.
•Structure of the paragraph and flow of writing don’t exist in most of the paper. I am even not fully satisfied of the passing candidates, except very few (almost 2 or 3).
•Finally I have not found any competition among the candidates. No one got outstanding position. However, only two candidates can be rated very good only.
(xxxv).Zoology:- The performance of most of the candidates was, in general, satisfactory. It is however, worth to note that:-
(1) English language needs improvement.
(2) To the point answer is better than narrating a long story.
(3) General knowledge needs substantial improvement.
(4) Most of the candidates like to criticize and give pessimistic views, which is not a healthy trend.
(5) Students must learn from current sources i.e. internet.

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Dear Amna can you please put some light on these two subjects as well and I really liked your post, Thank you.
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These observations may be right to some extent, but overall, it can't be. The observers are not infallible and majority of them suffer from preferrence of their own perceptions. They have been continuously failing in their mission, in majority of the cases, the people they prefer over others proves to be weak and not more competent than those who have failed to qualify their procrustean criteria. How could a person fail in Essay (due to bad grammar or incorrect diction) who could manage more than 70% of marks in English grammar (Precis and Composition). All they do is 'judicious management' of this constitutional body. The observers/examiners ignorance reigns supreme when it comes to CSS!
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Quote:
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Examiner’s Report

Commendable Job! Is the assessment done by FPSC examiners?
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Is the assessment done by FPSC examiners?

Yes.
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