National News

ISLAMABAD, (APP): Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz
Sharif on Friday turned down a proposal of the Establishment
Division seeking enhancement of the upper age limit from 28 to
30 years for the Central Superior Services (CSS) Examination.
According to a document available with the APP, the
Prime Minister’s Office rejected the summary saying that it
did not agree with the justification given by the Ministry of
Planning, Development and Reform and the Establishment
Division that there had been an increase in the number of
academic years from 14 to 16 for the Bachelors Degree for CSS
candidates.
The PM Office’s letter said even if schooling begins at
the age of six, a bachelor’s degree would be earned by the age
of 22, and six years – upto the age of 28 years was more than
enough for any candidate to avail three chances to appear in
the CSS examination.
The letter said the government should encourage 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 letter said the minimum existing stipulated
requirment in terms of experience for any Basic Scale 21 to be
considered for promotion to BS-22 is 24 years.
It pointed that 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 and many officers even
superannuate in BS-21.
The letter pointed that the government requires its
experienced and seasoned officers to serve in its most
important executive, leadership and policymaking position,
particularly those with a degree of stability and continuity.
It was said that for the large part, this was not
possible since most officers superannuate quickly after
promotion to BS-22.
Raising the age limit from 28 to 30 would only serve to
exacerbate this situation as even more officers would
superannuate before, or soon after, their promotions to BS-22,
the letter said.
“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.