Sharif rejects summary for raising age for CSS exam

Islamabad : Pakistan Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has rejected a summary filed by the Establishment Division, which recommended a two-year enhancement of the upper age-limit for Central Superior Services (CSS) examination.

The increase in the number of academic years from 14 to 16 for a bachelor’s degree is really no justification to enhance the upper age-limit for CSS candidates, The Express Tribune quoted a statement issued by the Prime Minister House as saying.

The statement said that the government should encourage the people to join the civil service at a younger age at which they are expected to be comparatively more receptive to the core ethics of civil service and the basic tenets of the public interest.

The statement clarified that by raising the age-limit from 28 to 30 years would only exacerbate the current situation as even more officers would superannuate before, or soon after, their promotions to BS-22.

This in turn would mean a further reduction in the pool of seasoned and experienced officers available to the federal and provincial governments for appointment in key positions, it added.

The minimum existing stipulated requirement in terms of experience for any officer of BS-21 to be considered for promotion to BS-22 is 24 years.

In actual practice, it takes even longer and most officers end up being able to serve in BS-22 for the last year or two of their careers, the statement said. (ANI)