Civil Services Academy launches historic national outreach programme to inspire university students across Pakistan

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LAHORE: The Pakistan Civil Services Academy (CSA) has launched its first national outreach program aimed at encouraging university students to get a career in urban services. The initiative, titled “Civil Service: Challenges and Opportunities”, started at Beacon House National University, Lahore, and is an important step towards addressing the gap between educational institutions and the public administration of Pakistan.

Addressing more than 100 students of diverse educational subjects, Farhan Aziz Khawaja, Director General of the Civil Services Academy, gave a depth lecture in tracking the 232 -year history of urban services. He referred to Plato’s philosopher King Theory, bringing the evolution of administrative rule into context, and explained his influence on the British colonial structure, which laid the foundation for the current civil services framework in Pakistan.

The DG explained about the historic progress from the service service to the Imperial Service, finally formed the Indian Civil Service, which later turned into Pakistan’s civil service. He explained that today’s structure includes 12 service groups, including Pakistan administrative services, Pakistan’s foreign services, and Pakistan’s police service.

Students were also introduced to the Civil Services Act (commonly known as the Esta Code) and their role in the operational responsibilities of government employees, especially policy making and implementation. Farhan Aziz Khawaja emphasized that the young people of Pakistan are the future of the country and they encouraged the CSS (Central Superior Services) examination to test their abilities.

Highlighting the importance of psychological preparation, he noted that emotional intelligence plays an important role in not only in writing exams, but also during the stages of competitive interviews. He advised students against relying more on private academies for preparation, warning that such companies could help with writing performance, but they often become less likely to prepare candidates for interviews.

He further made it clear that the government provides three possibilities for the CSS exam and acknowledged that the majority of successful candidates come from the elite, but from the lower middle and backward background. He added that the government is determined to increase such candidates for the opportunity to join civil services.

In response to inquiries from the students, Khawaja focused on several relevant topics, including the difference between federal and provincial civil services, the quota system for the armed forces personnel, and the necessary skills needed to take the lead in the CSS. He also highlighted the proposed cluster reform policy for the CSS exam, which is aimed at aligning articles with specific service groups. Although the policy is still underway due to the challenges of governance, it represents a significant change in the recruitment method.

The DG invited the students to visit the Civil Services Academy to get their own insights on the training and responsibilities of government employees, and identified the Academy’s commitment to transparency and engagement with the next generation of leaders. He emphasized that such visits would help eliminate the culture of training and service of government employees and further dismissal between Pakistan’s educational institutions and bureaucratic machinery would be further removed.

One of the important points of debate was the government’s proposed cluster test policy, which aimed to reorganize the CSS exam so as to close the selection of articles with specific service groups. Although the proposal is under consideration due to the ongoing rule and administrative challenges, the DG confirmed that internal consultation continues, and its implementation could indicate a change in the recruitment of the public sector.

The launch of the National Outreach Program is seen as an insightful move to democratic access to urban services through the Civil Services Academy and nurture a new generation of moral, capable, and diverse leaders that can create Pakistan’s future with ability and integrity.