Nix English, fix CSS

English language has become the Achilles heel of CSS aspirants

CSS is a free-for-all, the scions of wealthy families are pitted against hardworking sons and daughters of middle and lower-middle class

‘Well written column, younger brother. You should give CSS a try,’ the line rears its head every now and then. Mostly when I send my weekly column to friends, family and colleagues. Whether consciously or unconsciously, we’ve admitted that English, if not the sole criterion, has a major role in passing CSS and becoming a bureaucrat.

Who wants to be a bureaucrat? Well, who doesn’t? In our fatherland, power, prestige, status, and privilege are bundled together in one handsome package: Bureaucracy. Exclusively for those intelligent, hardworking ones who survive and emerge as victors after clearing an exceptionally hard written test followed by group discussions, interview, final selection, allocation and two separate trainings before their career begins.

CSS is a free-for-all, the scions of wealthy families are pitted against hardworking sons and daughters of middle and lower-middle class. If candidates from rural background possess more stamina to sit-and-study for long hours, those from urban centres have advantage of better schooling and facilities.

In our schools, we teach English as a subject, not as a language. English syllabus taught at all levels in government schools comprises of mostly prose writings with couple of poems and a novella (Read Mr Chips and Old Man and the Sea) thrown in the mix. Those who’ve done matriculation and intermediate are condemned to struggle with English for the rest of their lives. Those lucky few who’ve passed O and A levels, well, that is precisely who they are; lucky few.

Throughout my life, except my LLB years, I studied at government schools and colleges. I was exceptionally lucky that the lot of English teachers I had was remarkable. However, the weekly and monthly tests, three terms, and board exams permitted them little to go beyond the syllabus. And syllabus, as mentioned above, was completely haywire. Resultantly, many of us lack even the rudimentary knowledge of grammar. Those who had the habit of reading overcame it. Those who hadn’t, their struggle continues.

English, dearest sirs and ma’ams, is the Goliath endangering CSS. Now, can we summon a David to slay it and emancipate us? Widespread reforms in the education sector will take billions of rupees and many decades to produce results. I suggest a totally doable, CSS-specific and much needful reform: subtract two English papers from CSS examination and see what happens.

Our education system is rotten to the core. Agreed. That is why we are having fewer lads and lasses passing the CSS written exam. No, dearest sirs and ma’ams, that is not at all the case. I am saying this because I’ve witnessed bureaucrats-while-they-toiled-to-become-bureaucrats. Many of my cousins and friends who aspired to become bureaucrats studied and burnt the midnight oil like devoted hermits. They gave up their social life, friendships, leisure, travel, hobbies, even sleep. It takes a manic to make it, readers. To appear in CSS is easy, anyone with a bachelor degree can do so. To make it through, well, is no piece of black forest cake.

In an age where communication is done through acronyms and emoticons, where beliefs are broadcasted and debates are summed up in 140 characters, where seconds seconds are enough to entertain us, we want our engineers, doctors, lawyers to prove their expertise in flowery, archaic, Victorian English fit only for academics.

Honourable legislators, policy-makers and idle chatterers, you need to factor in other issues behind the poor performance of students at CSS as well

Honourable legislators, policy-makers and idle chatterers, you need to factor in other issues behind the poor performance of students at CSS as well. I asked Muhammad Zulfiqar Ali, who is one of the lucky 202 who passed written exam of CSS in 2016 and Asad Raza Mohal, who plans to appear next year, about their take on the debate. Both gents are former Ravians, educated in government schools, and hail from rural backgrounds. Muhammad Zulfiqar Ali passed his CSS written exam in his third and last attempt. Previously, he flunked in the paper of English Essay. Zulfiqar thinks that CSS depends on hard work coupled with luck. ‘CSS is cutthroat competition unlike anything else. You don’t aim to pass the exam, you compete against everyone else to bag a position. We forget that those who passed written exams were also products of the same educational system. In my opinion, CSS has more to do with individual effort than the state of education in the country. All over the world to enter the bureaucracy is an exceptionally tough task. How could we expect otherwise in Pakistan?’ he questioned.

Asad Raza, who did his BA Hons in English Literature from GC University, blamed superficial studies by students and dubious role of CSS academies for the poor results. ‘As they say politics is the art of the possible, the same holds true for policy making. No doubt, aiming to repair the entire educational system is an ideal worth pursuing. But it’ll take decades. During this year’s PMS English paper, they gave an excerpt from Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar for paraphrasing. Now, that is a masterstroke. The paper setter must either be oblivious of the difference between middle English and present day language or he must be thinking that it’ll be attempted by students who’ve studied drama all year long,’ he summed up the dilemma.

Dearest sirs and ma’ams, a decade back CSS used to be a realm few dared to traverse, it has now become a raffle ticket to paradise at 2,200 rupees per attempt. Jinnah Library used to be the hub of those preparing to compete for competitive services. Now, CSS academies, whose billboards carry pictures of those who nailed the exam, hellbent to ‘satisfy’ candidates, rule the roost.