CSS Examination: Complete Guide for Beginners for 2020

Introduction: This is a CSS Examination Guide for beginners. Central Superior Service (CSS) is a prestigious examination in Pakistan. Perhaps if we say that it is presumed to be the most difficult examination Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) conducts every year. CSS is conducted to select the candidate for various occupational groups in the Federal Government. The selected candidates initially post in BPS-17 under different organizations of Pakistan. This is a complete CSS Examination Guide for beginners in 2020 that every beginner should read before taking this CSS Examination.

This Css Examination Guide for beginners you will clear the following things:

Date, Time and Place to Conduct Examination and Interview
Different Occupational Groups
Method to Apply
Parts of CSS Examination
Eligibility Criteria
Age
Age Relaxation Procedure
Common Mistakes you should avoid

Date, Time and Place to Conduct CSS Examination and Interview

The FPSC give advertisement of CSS examination year at the end of September every year.

The Cut-off dates to applying for CSS Examination are from 01 October to 31 October every year.

The CSS Examination is held every year between 10 to 25 February.

FPSC conducts CSS written Examination in these 23 cities of Pakistan:

• Karachi
• Lahore
• Islamabad
• Peshawar
• Abbottabad
• Bahawalpur
• I.Khan
• G Khan
• Faisalabad
• Gujranwala
• Okara
• Rawalpindi
• Sargodha
• Sialkot
• Multan
• Gilgit
• Khuzdar
• Skardu
• Muzaffarabad
• Quetta
• Hyderabad
• Larkana
• Sukkur

FPSC conducts interview for CSS in these 05 major cities of Pakistan:

• Karachi
• Lahore
• Islamabad
• Peshawar
• Quetta

Different Occupational Groups

The recruitment through CSS Examination will be for these 12 Federal Government departments:

• Police Service of Pakistan
• Pakistan Administrative Services
• Commerce and Trade Services
• Customs and Excise Services
• Foreign Service of Pakistan
• Income Tax Group
• Information Group
• Military Lands and Cantonments Groups
• Office Management Group
• Pakistan Audit and Accounts Service
• Postal Services Group
• Railways Group

Those candidates who are selected in CSS Examination are posted in these groups according to their marks and merit number. The group selection which is made by the candidate himself will also be considered during posting. But merit number is always considering more than the candidate’s personal occupational group selection.

Method to Apply

The advertisement for CSS Exam, reflecting dates, is published in all newspapers in September each year.

If you want to apply then you must deposit the exam fee (Rs. 2200/-)  in the nearest Govt. Treasury / State Bank of Pakistan / National Bank of Pakistan under the account head C02101-Organs of State Exam fee on the given challan paper which can be downloaded by clicking here or from FPSC official website.

After depositing the Fee you must Fill in the Online Application Form on the official website of FPSC and take a print-out (hard-copy) of the same online form.

You must dispatch the hard copy of the online form which is generated when you submit your application online, along with copies of your documents and Fee Challan to the FPSC headquarter, Islamabad within the 10 days after submitting the application online.

Parts of CSS Examination

The CSS Examination is divided into the following 4 parts:

• Written Examination (1200 Marks)
• Medical Examination
• Psychological Test
• Viva Voce (300 Marks)

The CSS Written examination has 12 subjects. Out of these 12 subjects, 6 subjects are compulsory which are English, Grammar, General Science and Ability, Pakistan Study, Pakistan Current Affairs and Islamic Study. The other 6 subjects are optional which you can choose from this Revised CSS Examination Syllabus.

You have to get a minimum of 40 percent marks in compulsory and 33 percent marks in optional subjects and 50% aggregate marks to qualify the written part of CSS Examination.

The written pass candidates will be then shortlisted for Medical, Psychology, and Viva-voce.

If you want to get your paper re-check then the rechecking fee is Rs. 500 per paper.

There is a maximum of 3 chances that you can avail of in this CSS Examination.

Eligibility Criteria

You must fulfill the following eligibility criteria for appearing in CSS Examination.

Nationality Criteria: You must be a citizen of Pakistan or permanent resident of the state of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

Educational Criteria:

According to CSS Rules and Regulations for CSS Examination 2020:

• You must have a minimum Bachelor’s Degree with at least 2nd division from a university of Pakistan or equivalent qualification from a foreign university recognized by HEC.
• If you have the 3^rd division in your Bachelor’s degree then you can only apply if you have a higher division in your Master’s degree.

 Age for CSS Examination

The minimum age for appearing in the CSS Examination is 21 years and the maximum age is 30 years.

The age is calculated on 31 December of the year. Suppose you are applying in CSS 2020 then on 31 December 2019 you must not be more than 31 years or less than 21 years.

Age Relaxation Criteria

The age limit is relaxed by 2 years (32 years) if the candidate is currently serving as a Federal or Provincial government employee.

According to CSS Rules, the following candidates can also avail age relaxation if:

• Candidates currently serving as a government employee and have remained in the same service for at least 2 years. This age relaxation will be accorded to a candidate on the provision of a Departmental Permission Certificate. Employees from Banks, WAPDA, Regulatory Authorities, and Autonomous bodies are not entitled to age relaxation.
• Candidates belonging to Scheduled Castes and Buddhist Community subject to provision of issued by DCO/Political Agent/District Magistrate.
• Candidates belonging to recognized Tribes who are permanent residents of the areas – Baluchistan, Tribal Areas of D.I.Khan and Peshawar Divisions (including former Frontier States of Dir, Swat, Chitral and Amb, Former excluded (Baluch) area forming part of the Dera Ghazi Khan and Rajanpur Districts, Former Tribal Areas of Mardan and Hazara Divisions, Upper Tanawal Area of Hazara Division. The student will have to provide a certificate issued by DCO/Political Agent/District Magistrate.
• Candidates belonging to Azad Kashmir Territory subject to provision of a certificate issued by Kashmir Affairs Division; Gilgit- Baltistan including Gilgit, Diamir, Baltistan, Ghizar, and Ghanche; subject to the provision of a certificate issued by DCO/Political Agent/District Magistrate.
• Candidates who are disabled namely, physically impaired, hearing/speech impaired (deaf &dumb) and visually impaired (blind), subject to the submission of a certificate of disability issued by the competent authority designated for the purpose by the Federal/ Provincial Government.

Common Mistakes you Should Avoid

 Some of the common mistakes that all the applicant should avoid are given below:

• Waiting for the coming of the last date by saying “still a lot of time remaining in the last date”. You should apply as soon as possible.
• Try to hide their availed chances which later on find out by the FPSC and your candidature will be canceled.
• A very common problem is, not sending the Hard copy of the online submitted form within the 10 days of your online application submission.
• Taking only 1 or 2 papers just to check your ability. You must note that if you appear in 1 paper of CSS Examination or if you render a black answer sheet then your chances will be considered as consumed. So, try to give all the papers if not then do not appear in any papers.
• You must examine yourself medically before appearing in the CSS Examination.

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Conclusion

CSS Examination is the most prestigious examination in Pakistan. You must prepare well before appearing in this competitive examination. Also, you should understand all the rules and regulations of this examination which will be helpful for you in this journey.