A CSS candidate’s first-hand exposure of bureaucratic hurdles

ISLAMABAD: Sajid Abbas aspires to become a civil servant but well before his selection, he has got the first-hand exposure of bureaucracy’s working. The Federal Public Service Commission, a recruiting agency for bureaucracy, turned a deaf ear to his repeated requests for inspecting the answer sheet of his CSS exam.

Twice, he moved the Lahore High Court to ensure that he could be granted an audience in connection with the redressal of his grievances. The FPSC heard him but only at the LHC’s directions. However, his demand went unheard. Then he invoked his right to know under the Right of Access to Information Act, 2017. He didn’t hear back.

Sajid’s prayer was only answered when the Pakistan Information Commission issued a landmark judgment which ordered the FPSC to provide him with the answer sheet within 10 working days, so that he could examine how the marking was done. The recruiting agency has never granted this facility to candidates who were aggrieved, what they believe, by the arbitrary marking by examiners.

The CSS exams of 2020 fared poorly for many aspirants. Of 18,553 who appeared in it, only 376 could pass the written test, which constitutes just 1.9 percent of the total number. The rest failed and Sajid was among them. He passed in all papers but the English essay. Marking of this paper has often been questionable in the eyes of candidates.

Like many others, Sajid was shocked to learn about his failure in this paper. Therefore, he applied for the recounting/rechecking but didn’t receive any response from the FPSC. He sent a reminder in vain. Left with no option, he filed a petition in the Lahore High Court, which ordered the FPSC to act in accordance with the law. He received a communication from the recruiting agency but it was nothing more than a pre-printed response.

Dissatisfied with it, Sajid filed representation wherein he requested for the certified copy of answer sheets of his English essay. He didn’t hear back from the FPSC. He again moved the LHC with the prayer that FPSC should be directed to act according to law. Another order was issued and only then the FPSC gave him the opportunity of personal hearing.

Nevertheless, his request for the certified copy of the answer sheet was rejected as he was told that his answer sheet was a secret and confidential document, which could not be shared. He filed a representation to FPSC against its decision of rejecting his request but didn’t hear back.

As a last resort, Sajid filed an information request under the Right of Access to Information Act, 2017. As usual, it didn’t receive any response from the FPSC and he went in appeal to the Pakistan Information Commission, which is the appellant body against the federal departments.

The FPSC said the record was classified and the marks could not be changed. In response, Sajid said he only wanted to see the answer sheet to determine if there was any error in recounting and whether the examiner commented on his paper that could be helpful in future exams.

After hearing arguments from both sides, the commission ruled in favor of Sajid and observed that the record under question didn’t fall under the category of secret/classified as has been defined in the Right of Access to Information Act, 2017.

Finally, the commission issued a landmark order, which is a source of relief for the aggrieved candidates. It directed the FPSC to provide Sajid a certified copy of his answer sheet, so he could examine whether the marking was calculated properly or not, a facility which is even provided to those appearing in the exam of intermediate board.

Marking in English papers has often raised concerns of candidates. Irfan Jehangir Wattoo, who is Sajid’s advocate and a retired civil servant, said he obtained the information using the RTI law about the candidates who appeared in the CSS exams of 2020, which he could make available

As many as 2,890 candidates were given zero marks in that exam, he said, and included among them were also two candidates who had passed English Precis and Composition papers with high marks. "One of them had 74 and another 90 in the English Precis paper but were awarded zero in the essay paper," he said.

Wattoo, a retired officer of accounts service, also shared the example of his daughter, a graduate of prestigious Kinnaird College, Lahore, who would write for international publications before attempting the CSS exam. She scored 94pc marks in the overall exam but failed in the English Precis.

Shocked at this result, Wattoo decided to contest it. He filed a representation. "During the course of representation, the FPSC members looked embarrassed at this. They asked my daughter that your grievance would be addressed in the next attempt," he said. His daughter is now in the Customs service.

The News also spoke with a serving member of FPSC about this issue. He acknowledged that many candidates are found complaining about the low marking in the essay exam but added that assessment in such exams is subjective. There is no mathematical approach to deal with it. He said the FPSC is also concerned about this dissatisfaction and reforms are being carried out to address it.

Asked why candidates are forced to move the court for demanding what is their legal right of being heard, he dispelled the impression that candidates are not heard. However, Sajid insists that he moved the court when he didn’t receive a reply from the FPSC even after sending a reminder.