Ratio of successful female candidates grows
By: Rana Ghulam Qadir
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) has issued its Annual Report 2010 revealing interesting statistics about the Central Superior Services (CSS) examination 2009.
According to the report containing data about the domicile, age, sex, education, schooling and profession of candidates, a total of 9,056 candidates applied for the CSS examination 2009 but only 5,707 (63 percent) took the examination and only 905 (15.6 percent) of them passed.
As per the Establishment Division report, there were 388 posts to be filled and 337 candidates were, however, appointed in different professional groups.
The breakdown of 5,707 candidates showed 2,992 (52 percent) candidates were from Punjab, 1,133 (20 percent) from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), 600 (11 percent) from Sindh Rural, 292 (5.11 percent) from Sindh Urban, 323 (six percent) from Gilgit-Baltistan (G-B), 261 (five percent) from Balochistan and 99 (two percent) from Azad Kashmir (AK) while 68 percent of those who qualified belonged to Punjab, 12 percent to KP, eight percent to Sindh Rural, five percent to G-B and three percent to Sindh Urban.
The ratio of those who qualified showed Punjab had 171 (50 percent), Sindh Rural 68 (20 percent), Sindh Urban 28 (eight percent) and KP 36 (11 percent). This breakdown vividly showed that for candidates belonging to urban and rural Sindh, opportunities were many while the competition was not as tough.
Out of 5,707 candidates, 77 percent were male and 23 percent female, whereas 73 percent male candidates were selected against 27 percent female candidates, which showed that the ratio of female candidates in final selection increased.
According to the report, 62 percent of candidates belonged to 25-29 years age group and 57 percent of them emerged successful. Those in the age bracket of 21-25 years were 31 percent and in the final selection their ratio went up to 37 percent. Out of 342 finally selected, 145 (42 percent) had studied up to SSC in government schools of the provinces, 51 candidates studied in public schools, 41 in forces/garrison schools and 26 in model schools. Candidates from forces/garrison schools fared better in final selection, as candidates in the category were only six percent whereas the ratio of those finally selected in this category jumped to 12 percent.
Of those who took the CSS examination, 50 percent held second division while 47 percent held first division. Seventy (70) percent of those selected were jobless, five percent belonged to teaching department, five percent were serving on administrative posts, four percent belonged to the armed forces, two percent came from accounts and only one percent was associated with medical/engineering profession.
According to the report, 69 percent of the finally selected candidates got more than 60 percent marks in Islamiyat. Similarly those who got more than 60 percent marks in some other subjects included 33 percent in Everyday Science, seven percent in Current Affairs, five percent in English Essay and three percent in English Precis and Composition.
The capability of candidates has been analysed in detail,
According a detail analysis of capability of candidates, the most of the candidates depended on the beaten track in English Essay and used old style material and did not bother to update their information. One-third of the candidates had no knowledge of correct grammar in English and sentences were formed without any logic or any consideration to punctuation. Although 60 percent of the candidates passed the General Knowledge paper, yet it was evident that they had studied only traditional help books and guides and seemed to be blank in conceptualisation.
The performance, however, improved in the General Knowledge paper. The candidates had some knowledge of the affairs, however, their grasp of the issues and comprehension of their depth was still weak. This proved the standard of higher education was not up to the mark. Their preparation also left much to be desired, as their knowledge about General Knowledge (Pakistan Affairs) was weak.
Knowledge of Islamiyat seemed only superficial showing the lack of proper study and underlining the need for introducing the translation of the Holy Quran and Hadith with grammar at the graduation level. In Islamiyat, 26 percent of the candidates secured 60 percent or more marks, 35 percent got 50 to 59 percent marks and 39 percent got 40 to 49 percent. No candidate failed in this subject.
In Accounts and Auditing, the candidates had not even basic concept of accounting and their main thrust was on practical application. Performance in the subject of Agriculture was satisfactory and some of them impressed with depth of their knowledge in the subject.
In Applied Maths, 62 percent of the candidates failed while six percent secured 60 percent or more marks. The performance of candidates in Arabic Grammar was poor, however, overall it was better in the subject. In Arabic as subject, 43 percent of candidates got 66 percent or more marks. Candidates performed well in Balochi and 50 percent of them showed their command of the Balochi language and they expressed themselves well as 98 percent of them secured 60 percent or more marks.
Candidates performed well in British History whereas it was not satisfactory in Business Administration. In Chemistry, only five percent got 60 percent or more marks. As a whole, the performance in Computer Science was not satisfactory as only six percent candidates could get 60 percent or more marks. In Economics, 34 percent candidates got 60 percent or more marks while only one percent could secure 60 percent or more marks in English Literature.
Performance in European History was satisfactory while as a whole the candidates fared well in Geography as well. They showed average performance in Indo-Pak History while their knowledge of American History was satisfactory and so was it in International Law. The performance of candidates in International Relations was even below average whereas good performance was witnessed in Islamic History and Culture. The performance of candidates was also good in journalism but for the material they depended on traditional books.
The incompetence of candidates in Law was so glaring that some of them could not write correctly even a single paragraph and had no command of English language. The performance was satisfactory in Persian as 51 percent of candidates obtained 60 percent or more marks while 20 percent of candidates obtained 60 percent or more marks in Philosophy and 69 percent candidates secured 60 percent or more marks in Psychology.
In Public Administration, 15 percent candidates obtained 60 percent or more marks while 25 of candidates gave irrelevant answers in Punjabi and 37 percent of candidates secured 60 percent marks in Pashto. In the Sindhi, 52 percent candidates obtained 60 percent marks and candidates demonstrated the best performance in Sociology as 60 percent of them obtained 60 percent marks. In Statistics, 13 percent candidates obtained 60 percent or more marks while 29 percent of candidates secured 60 percent or more marks in Zoology.
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