There are several institutes in Pakistan that have been established for the purpose of Civil Superior Services (CSS) and Provincial Management Services (PMS) exam preparation. With increasing demand and a large market, these institutes have popped up everywhere. Like National Officer’s Academy (NOA academy), many of them started as small tutoring academies in the houses of teachers who helped a small number of aspirants. However, one may ask what makes NOA unique and why it should be chosen over the plethora of other institutes that claim to have excellent results.
NOA has grown far beyond where it began with 30 students. It now has thousands of students across campuses in 3 major cities of Pakistan and is the first CSS/PMS preparatory institute offering online classes. Not only are the classes online, they are conducted in a virtual campus where students can submit their assignments, quizzes, mock examinations and it all get checked and evaluated by professional faculty members.
NOA utilizes an in-house, custom-made Learning Management System (LMS) for the delivery of its online educational programs, through which students have access to every resource they would if they attended classes in person. The LMS has been developed specifically for the needs of NOA and its students while providing the benefit of being personalized and updated organically as the organization grows.
With a faculty of over 100 members, NOA boasts one of the most experienced and qualified CSS preparatory faculty list in the country. All teachers are either Civil Service Officers or professionals in their fields. In fact, multiple teachers teach the same subject based on their expertise. If a lecture is based on Pak-Afghan relations, NOA will have an officer, who serves in Afghanistan as a representative of Pakistan, deliver the lecture.
Subject selection is a massive decision every CSS aspirant has to make, which can be the difference between success and failure. On face value, it does not seem a complicated process; however, there is more to it than meets the eye. NOA believes in making smart and safe decisions when it comes to the selection of subjects. It has an entire day of orientation dedicated to individual subject selection with the help of its qualified faculty, and a staff member who can be consulted 6 days a week regarding subject selection at UAN 051-111-662-277 ext 14.
As far as subjects go, NOA offers classes for the widest range of CSS optional subjects as compared to any other institute. All the popular and approximately half of all optional subjects are offered here and for those that are not available, individual guidance is provided in case any student opts for them. For example, Mercantile Law is not offered but there is faculty that can help any student who chooses to select that subject.
One of the best methods of preparation for any examination is simulating an experience similar to that of the examination itself. That is why mock examinations are so popular for the preparation of any exam. Throughout the year, NOA academy conducts mock examinations so students can practice what it is like attempting the CSS exam. The mock exams are checked by highly experienced and professional faculty members who also conduct one-on-one tutorial sessions where students have a chance to individually discuss their work and how to improve upon it. Near the end of the year, the mock exams are conducted containing questions that are predicted to come in the CSS examination. A prime example is that a topic on free speech was in the Essay mock exam in 2019, while the exact same topic appeared in the CSS 2020 Essay exam later.
Unlike any other CSS preparatory institute, NOA academy offers 3 different types of courses dedicated solely to the improvement of English for the examination. The first course is “English Foundation”, a 1-month session focused on improving the basics of English for the student. The second course is “Advanced English Grammar and Writing” that helps students improve their overall writing skills. And the third course is “English Essay and Composition”, which is a session designed specifically for the preparation of the English Essay and the English Composition examinations in CSS.
Furthermore, NOA’s classes are not limited only to CSS, it offers preparatory courses for PMS and PCS (examinations for positions listed in general recruitment) as they are announced. In all cases, including CSS, when a student passes the written portion of the examination, NOA grooms the student for the interview and psychological assessment. So, even if a student did not attend NOA for preparation in the written examination, they can still get help for the interview.
Students often struggle to choose which books to buy for the preparation of the examinations and after much demand, NOA has developed its own publishing team. Teachers of NOA write their own books based on the CSS subject of their specialty. The books are comprehensive and created keeping in mind the one-book policy of the academy. Many teachers even have their personal notes for sale in the academy bookstore for reference.
When applying for admission at NOA, students often have the misconception that their admission only lasts for the course they are attending. That is, if they applied for admission for the 4-month CSS preparatory course, they think their admission ends with the last class of the session. However, they are mistaken because admission at NOA lasts until allocation, which means that they can appear in mock examinations at any time and come back for assignment checking or personal guidance as needed. When they pass the written portion of the examination, they are guided through the interview, till the final step of the process and after that they become guests at NOA’s annual Prize Distribution Ceremony where their hard work and efforts are recognized.
