The government is planning to revise the syllabus of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examination, with a committee already formed to this end, State Minister for Public Administration Md Abdul Bari has said.

He disclosed the information on Thursday in response to a written question placed in parliament by ruling party lawmaker Md Harun-or-Rashid of Rajbari-2 constituency.

The state minister said one of the key goals of the current commission is to replace the existing memorisation-based syllabus in BCS and other government recruitment exams with a skill-based evaluation system.

To achieve this, he said, a committee has been formed to review the BCS syllabus and recommend necessary revisions and additions.

The committee will examine civil service examination syllabuses of different countries and submit recommendations accordingly.

Highlighting changes to the viva voce, he said a competency-based interview system will be introduced soon, where candidates’ knowledge, skills and attitude will be assessed.

He also said initiatives have been taken to reduce delays in the recruitment process and complete a BCS cycle within one year.

“In the case of the 50th BCS, a specific exam schedule was published along with the circular, and the preliminary results have been published while the written examination has already begun in line with that schedule,” the state minister added.