35th BCS Preliminary: Some Observations and Analysis

Some personal observations and analysis regarding the 35th BCS preliminary examination:

# By arranging the sequence কখগঘ vertically instead of horizontally from left to right, many candidates marked at least 3-4 known answers incorrectly. No one could have anticipated that PSC would play such a psychological game. Even 0.5 marks matter greatly in such an exam! If you fell for this trap, there’s no reason to consider yourself ‘unique.’

# This wasn’t a ‘let’s figure it out ourselves’ type of question. So I’m certain there was pin-drop silence in the examination hall. When talking serves no purpose, sometimes it’s better to fill in the ‘wrong circle’ if necessary.

# Coaching centers and guidebooks won’t help much unless you have something in your own ‘headquarters.’ What you’ve accumulated through learning proved less useful than what you had stored within. Taking a good exam is more important than good preparation. (This is how civil service entrance exams should be) It seems the time has come to think anew about how to pass BCS exams and get jobs—about the nature and preparation strategies. The days of saying ‘so-and-so coaching center’s suggestions were this percent common’ or ‘this many questions from such-and-such guide were common’ are coming to an end, it seems.

# This examination reflected both democracy and socialism. Democracy why? The exam-scripts were the mistake-banks of the candidates, by the candidates, for the candidates. Socialism why? Those who studied hard met the same fate as those who didn’t study at all. Studying means studying—whether for a week or a year.

# If you’re thinking “This one was so-so, I’ll absolutely nail the 36th,” and if you believe you’re the only person who spent most of the 2+ hours in the exam hall thinking exactly this, then I’d say you’re mistaken. I’ve had the fortune to speak with many people (most of whom are BUET-Medical students—what we consider ‘good students’). I assure you, that thought was universal. In special circumstances, all people think the same way. PSC can make everyone collectively ‘fall into the trap’ if it wants to.

# ‘The days of showing off are over, let Bangladesh run on merit’—I know this thought isn’t in PSC’s head. I just said it anyway. Well, if it exists even subconsciously, meaning if PSC wants to reform the examination system through ‘Kaizen method,’ then I’d applaud them. At the same time, I’d tell those taking exams: “Brother, it might not be right to think that you’ll pass by studying in the same style that everyone has used to pass the written exam all this time.” Think a bit about how to prepare better. Time is short! For a job you’ll do comfortably for 30 years, can’t you think for even 3 months? By the way, ‘Kaizen’ means continuously improving a system gradually (not overnight).

# In this exam, first person, second person, and third person—everyone’s condition was more or less the same, meaning terrible. If someone scolds you saying “What kind of exam did you take! You passed nothing! You donkey!” don’t mind their words, forgive them graciously. Ask them to take this type of exam. You’ll see they won’t find anyone to wipe their runny nose.

# Those friends of yours who are cheerfully boasting, “Plus-minus, I’ll have at least 150,” you don’t need to say anything to them. Let the results come out. You’ll see many of them have failed while still smiling.

# Questions that could be answered differently depending on how you approached them were slightly more numerous this time compared to other years. PSC deliberately plays this game so that no one attempts those questions. Whatever PSC considers the answer will be correct. I know, still, you don’t want to leave them. Greed leads to sin, sin leads to negative marks. No matter! Everyone knowingly drinks poison.

# If you look at the questions carefully, you’ll notice that regardless of your academic background, you’re getting no extra advantage. Job examination questions should be like this.

# If all exams follow this style from now on, the reign of question banks, digests, job solutions, and coaching centers will diminish, or they’ll have to change their service approach. The days of blindly believing whatever anyone says as gospel truth are over. We want people to enter the bureaucracy not just through memorization.

From yesterday until today, I’ve received countless questions. I was a bit busy with easy tasks, so I couldn’t reply promptly. I’ve tried to answer the questions above. If you still have any questions, please ask. I’ll try to answer them.

“What might be the cut-off marks for the 35th BCS preliminary?” Million-dollar question!!

Honestly, if I had taken the exam myself, I would have been worried about whether I’d pass at all. After seeing the questions, I thought, “Ah! Good days gone, bad days come. I’ve been spared by a hair’s breadth!” So you might well think, “Oh! What will become of me!” Well, have you noticed something? Your story is more or less the same as everyone else’s. What does this mean? If you scored low marks, most students will also score low marks. If ‘ten together fail,’ then there’s no problem, right? So will PSC fail everyone systematically? That’s not really possible. Therefore, your chances of participating in the written examination aren’t absolutely zero. If I were a candidate this time, I could never think that this year’s preliminary cut-off marks would be more than 95, regardless of how my own exam went!

Good luck, friends!!