5 lakh sit for BCS exams today

The 41st BCS preliminary examination is all set to take place today amid calls for strict following of Covid-19 health guidelines.

Amid the pandemic and the recent surge in infections and deaths, nearly half a million candidates are expected to sit for the exam, which is conducted by the Public Service Commission.

PSC earlier circulated an 11-point health and safety guideline making it mandatory for all candidates to wear masks and maintaining physical distance at exam halls. It also asked all job seekers to maintain physical distance while entering and leaving the exam centres.

PSC Chairman Sohorab Hossain told The Daily Star yesterday afternoon that everything was set for the exam.

"We will hold the exam amid strict adherence to Covid-19 health guidelines," he added.

The two-hour exam will start from 10:00am.

Around 4.75 lakh candidates applied for the exam after the 41st BCS circular was published in November 2019 to appoint 2,018 vacant posts in different cadres.

Among the 351 centres in seven divisions, there are many centres where 3,000-4,000 candidates will sit for the exam.

On Tuesday, the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) proposed that the government not reopen educational institutions and hold any public examinations, including BCS, in the wake of the rising number of Covid-19 patients.

In Tuesday's meeting at the Prime Minister's Office, the DGHS officials also suggested going for a complete lockdown to curb transmission.

The high-ups at the PMO, however, opined that the authorities concerned will make a decision on such issues and asked the DGHS to strengthen enforcement of health safety guideline and reopen the Covid-19 hospitals that were shut down earlier.

In this context, there has been discussion on social media about whether tomorrow's examinations would be held or not.

"We have only one day left before the exams. We have sent question papers and other logistics to different exam centres. Examinees have also come to the divisional cities. It is tough to stop the exam now," Shahjahan Ali Mollah, a member of PSC, said Wednesday night.

In the last several days, the transmission of novel coronavirus had been gradually rising every day with experts fearing spread of the new strains of novel coronavirus, including those first detected in the UK and South Africa.