CSS Exam stands for Central Superior Service Exam. CSS Exam is conducted by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) Islamabad for the recruitment of candidates to post (BS-17) under the Federal Government of Pakistan to fill different posts in 12 different departments
1- Pakistan Administrative Services (PAS)
2-Police Service of Pakistan (PSP)
3-Foreign Services of Pakistan (FSP)
4-Pakistan Custom Services (PCS)
5-Inland Revenue Service (IRS)
6-Military Land and Cantonments (MLC)
7-Pakistan Audit and Accounts Services (PAAS)
8-Railways (Commercial and Transport) Group
9- Postal Group
10-Office Management Group (OMG)
11-Information Group (IG)
12-Commerce and Trade Group (CM&T)
120 Days Preparatory Course for CSS
NOA completes the preparation of all compulsory and optional subjects selected at the time of admission in a period of 120 days. However, if the syllabus or syllabi of some subject(s) remain incomplete in the specified time due to any inevitable circumstances, the academy shall conduct as many extra classes as required to finish the task without charging extra fees.
Classes are conducted in the evenings from 6:00pm to 9:00pm six days a week keeping Fridays off in the form of a one-day weekend. Compulsory, as well as, optional subjects usually start simultaneously; however, occasionally classes of certain optional subjects are conducted from 3:00 PM to 6:00 PM on weekends. Guess papers are not only conducted, but students are helped, coached, guided and trained to be able to write excellent and scoring answers.
Legal Requirements:
The legal requirements are to be fulfilled by the 31st December of the year preceding the examinations. Hence, if a student turns 31 before 31st December 2020, they will not be able to appear in the 2021 CSS examinations. The following rules apply for anyone planning to attempt the CSS examinations:
• Age requirement: the candidate must be below the age of 30 and above the 21 before the cutoff date (31st December of the preceding year).
Age relaxation of 2 years in the upper age limit applies to candidates:
o belonging to the scheduled cast and Buddhist community
o belonging to Balochistan, the tribal areas of D.I Khan and Peshawar, Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur districts, former tribal areas of Mardan and Hazara divisions
o permanent residents of Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan
o with special needs, namely, physical, hearing or speech impairment
o government employees who possess a minimum of 2 years continuous service
• Educational qualifications: the candidate must hold a bachelor’s degree or an equivalent of 14 years of formal education before the cutoff date, recognized by the Higher Education Committee (HEC) of Pakistan, while maintaining a position in or above the second division or a GPA of 2.5/5 or 2/4.
• Gender: only Male and Female genders are accepted
• Nationality: the candidate must be a citizen of Pakistan. Dual citizens can appear in the exam but will have to surrender their foreign citizenship in case they clear the examinations and are appointed.
• Domicile: seats with respect to the groups and services will be allocated based on the domicile, which is why a Pakistani domicile is absolutely necessary.
The written exam comprises of six (6) compulsory and four (4) to six (6) optional subject carrying 1200 marks in all. Compulsory subjects include English (Essay), English précis & composition), Islamiat, Pakistan affairs, current affairs and General Science & Ability, each carrying 100 marks. There are 5 optional each 4 subjects available for selection. They are ground in Seven groups. Six subjects are full units, with two papers, carry 200 marks, for instance, Political science and International Relation. The remaining subjects carry 100 marks and are half units. You have to choose subjects carrying 600 marks. A number of restrictions are applicable which must be followed while choosing the optional subjects.
Written exams are followed by viva voce for the successful candidates. This includes psychological tests, interview and group discussion. However, for updated rules, official website of FPSC can be visited. (www.fpsc.gov.pk)