Minister argues in favour of enhancing age for CSS exam

ISLAMABAD: Planning, Development and Reforms Minister Ahsan Iqbal, who aggressively pushed a proposal for two-year increase in the upper age limit of candidates appearing in the Central Superior Services (CSS) examination, offered four major arguments in getting it approved from the federal cabinet.

“Thousands of young hopefuls will benefit from the raise in the age limit,” he told The News. His same recommendation, which had also been endorsed by the Establishment Division, had been rejected by the premier in March this year through a well-argued speaking order. However, the minister did not lose heart and kept pursuing it.

“In India, Bangladesh and several other countries, the upper age limit of such aspirants is thirty years, which had also been the case in Pakistan, but it was lowered by two years by General Pervez Musharraf without any cogent rhyme or reason,” said Ahsan Iqbal.

He said the new age limit of thirty years will be applicable to the candidates, who would take part in the first forthcoming CSS examination to be held early next year. The applications will be submitted in the last quarter of the current year. The requisite official notification, increasing the age limit, will be issued in the next few days.

The minister argued that there has been radical demographic change in Pakistan, which necessitated the upward revision in the age limit. The young population has swelled; more students are now getting higher education; and the study years of bachelors’ degree have been enhanced from two to four years in most institutions, he said.

Ahsan Iqbal said that the trend of doing Masters has also gone up among the young persons. The increase in the age limit will attract more qualified people to the prestigious service, he said and added that the governance challenge has undergone a fundamental change as per the world experience.

More importantly, he said, the raise will attract youth from the backward areas and poor families. In their cases, he believed, they generally can’t continue their studies at a stretch because of their peculiar financial conditions. Mostly they have to break their studies and work to earn something at different levels, which results in enhancing their age till their studies are completed. They conclude their studies in bits and pieces, he said.

The minister said that the inclusive recommendation, augmenting the age limit, was part of the administrative reforms, being mulled over by the planning, development and reform division for quite some time.

He pointed out that sometime back the Senate had also unanimously passed a resolution, calling for enhancing the upper age limit. In March this year, the prime minister rejected the summary of the establishment division which recommended two-year raise in the upper age-limit.

“The increase in the number of academic years from 14 to 16 for a bachelors’ degree is really no justification to enhance the upper age limit for CSS candidates,” a statement issued by the Prime Minister Office had said.

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

The minimum existing stipulated requirement in terms of experience for any officer of Grade-21 to be considered for promotion to Grade-22 is 24 years. In actual practice it takes even longer, and most officers end up being able to serve in Grade-22 for the last year or two of their career, according to the statement.

It said that by raising the age-limit from 28 to 30 years would only serve to exacerbate the current situation as even more officers would superannuate before, or soon after, their promotions to Grade-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,” the statement added.