As many as 3,930 candidates for the 44th Bangladesh Civil Service will have to face fresh viva voce since the newly constituted Bangladesh Public Service Commission has decided to cancel the previously conducted oral examinations.

The oral interviews of these candidates were conducted up until July 18 after a total of 11,732 examinees passed the 44th BCS written tests.  

However, the oral exams were suspended on August 25, and the then-commission resigned on October 8.

The newly formed commission decided to cancel the previously conducted interviews and restart oral examinations for all candidates who passed the written tests in order to "maintain uniformity", the PSC said in a press release yesterday. 

The new dates for the oral examinations will be announced shortly, the press release added.

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HC orders probe into alleged question leak in 46th BCS exam

In its first meeting, the newly appointed chairman and eight members of the PSC also made significant decisions on the 45th and 46th BCS tests, as well as various non-cadre exams.

To "ensure transparency and fairness", the new commission also decided to send all answer scripts from the written tests of the 45th BCS to a third examiner for additional evaluation.

The evaluation of the written answer scripts for the 45th BCS is ongoing, and the work of the second examiner is nearly complete, the press release noted.

The BPSC is also reviewing and assessing the written exam for the post of sub-assistant engineer in Bangladesh Railway, with a decision on this examination expected soon.

The commission decided to republish the results of the 46th BCS preliminary test by selecting an additional 10,638 candidates — equal to the number of candidates who had already passed the prelims and been selected for the written tests in the previously published results on May 9, 2024.

This decision was taken to "eliminate any potential disparities", the BPSC said.

The 46th BCS notification was published on November 30 last year, and the preliminary exam was held on April 26 this year.

A private TV station aired a report in July this year, alleging that question papers of 30 recruitment exams under the BPSC, including for cadre and non-cadre posts, had been leaked by a racket.

The High Court yesterday ordered the Criminal Investigation Department of police to investigate allegations of question paper leaks in the 46th BCS preliminary examination and submit a report within 60 days.

The HC bench of Justice Farah Mahbub and Justice Debasish Roy Chowdhury also issued a rule, asking the authorities why their failure to cancel the preliminary exam should not be declared illegal.