The Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) has sought three days to decide whether it is feasible to postpone the 46th BCS written examination, following protests from candidates demanding a deferral of the exam date.

The agitating candidates have announced that if no official decision is made by 5 PM on Friday (April 11), they will launch a fresh phase of protest, calling for the resignation of the PSC chairman and other commission members.

The decision came after a meeting between the candidates and PSC Chairman Dr. Md. Mobasser Monem at the PSC headquarters at Agargaon in Dhaka on Tuesday.

Prior to the meeting, a group of BCS aspirants entered the PSC premises in protest, prompting the presence of local police and army patrol units to maintain order.

Initially, candidates claimed that the PSC was unwilling to defer the written exams scheduled to begin on May 8. This triggered strong reactions from candidates gathered outside the PSC office. However, during the meeting, Major Redwan, a military officer present at the scene, informed the protestors that the PSC needed three days to reconsider the decision due to the scale and complexity of organizing such a national-level examination.

A BCS candidate, speaking on behalf of the protestors, confirmed that they agreed to the PSC’s request for time but warned that if no postponement decision is made by the deadline, the movement would escalate with a one-point demand: the resignation of the PSC leadership.

He stated that on Friday, after Jummah prayers, the protestors would return to the PSC office with a renewed call for accountability and transparency.

Candidates expressed frustration over the sudden change in the exam schedule. They said they had been preparing based on information previously posted on PSC’s official Facebook page, which suggested that the written exam would be held in the last week of May. However, a sudden notice issued just before Eid announced that the exam would begin on May 8—giving them barely a month’s notice for a rigorous 900-mark examination.

Protesters also pointed out that while the viva of the 40th BCS is still ongoing and the result of the 45th BCS written exam remains pending for over a year, the PSC is hastily moving ahead with the 46th written exam. Adding to their concern, the preliminary exam for the 47th BCS is scheduled just a month later.

One candidate questioned the rationale of giving only a month’s notice for a major written exam, while the 47th BCS preliminary exam had a two-month advance announcement. They also raised concerns over fairness, alleging that repeated participation by the same candidates across different BCS exams is leading to inequality in selection, and called on the PSC to publish the 40th BCS results before holding the 46th written exam.

Another agitated candidate accused the PSC chairman of making misleading statements to the media earlier in the day. “He said those protesting are either not real candidates or are weak and unqualified. Such a statement is unacceptable from someone holding the top position in PSC,” the candidate said. They rejected the chairman’s claim that the syllabi for the preliminary and written exams are the same, calling it “absurd.”

“If that were true, why conduct the written exam at all? Just appoint candidates based on the preliminary test then,” he added, demanding the chairman retract his statement.