Murad Kasi 3rd position, PCS-2010 Balochistan
Please tell us about your educational background and achievements?
My initial studies were in Quetta and I did my MSc in International Relations from Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad. I also got enrolment in M.phil in I.R department at Quaid-e-Azam University, but after studying one semester I left it and came to Quetta for the preparation of CSS exam. I have qualified the CSS-2010 written exam and now waiting for the interview.
Is PCS exam of Balochistan is different from the CSS exam?
Balochistan PCS (Provincial Civil Service) exam is quite different from the CSS exam. In fact, PCS has seven papers, four compulsory (English, Pakistan affairs, Islamiat (combined), General knowledge- including current Affairs) along with one language paper and on the other hand, there are three optional papers. The range of optional papers is quite limited unlike the CSS.
Every optional subject carries 150 marks. I must say that PCS is more difficult than the CSS. In PCS one has limited seats. Not more than three in most of the cases for the region from where one appears. Whereas in the CSS, you have many seats to compete for.
What steps are required for the preparation of the PCS exam?
First of all, subject selection should be given a due importance, as in PCS the selection of scoring subjects is the key to the allocation. One must select subjects keeping in mind the trend of marking in the previous exams. In PCS, one must not try to prepare the whole course from different books, rather one should follow the previous question papers. The difficult thing about PCS paper is that they are apparently not difficult but are tricky.
What strategy should the candidates employ for the preparation of English paper?
PCS English comprises essay, precis, pairs of words, letter writing and all other things of English composition in one paper. This implies that one has to write an essay of about 400 words which carries 30 marks. The important thing is that one has to write the essay in a limited time, so it requires good strategy and format.
That format which I devised for it was that I stipulated to write six paragraphs with six sentences each, with at least ten words in each sentence. It requires good practice of this format before you appear in the PCS exam. One should also prepare the letter writing in a good way as this is a new addition in PCS which doesn’t exist in the CSS paper.
General knowledge paper of PCS is considered tougher than general knowledge papers of the CSS, do you agree? How candidates should prepare for this paper?
General knowledge is a difficult paper. But the candidates must read the newspaper for it. The candidates have to focus on eminent personalities and events which are relevant to the paper. So in this way, candidates can improve their general knowledge. For the foreign words & phrases and abbreviations, they should use latest books, internet and Jahngir’s World Times too. In addition, candidates should also note the abbreviations coming in news items especially in the Dawn newspaper.
The difficult thing about PCS paper is that they are mostly not difficult but are tricky.
Scheme of optional papers is entirely different in PCS as compared to the CSS exams. Please tell how candidates should choose their optional subjects in the PCS and what are the ways to get higher marks in optional?
To select subjects, the candidates should see what the trend of marking has been in the previous exams. They should also keep in view the areas of their strength and what subjects will help them in the CSS exams.
History subjects was not the scoring one in our time, but political science and public administration had scored well. The candidates should select subjects which are not only complimentary to each other but also helpful in the compulsory papers, like I had Islamic history-1 and Islamiat optional both these were also correlated with my CSS subjects of Islamic History and Muslim Law. Indeed, it was also helpful for me in interview. But again the best policy is to select subjects according to one’s area of strength.
How can one get higher marks in interview?
Interview is a matter of confidence and luck in fact, the interview is normally quiz type. The interview panel asks the questions that are normally non- analytical. So for that, one must read the international page of Newspapers. It is impossible to be able to answer all the questions they ask, if one does not know the answer of a particular question then he should just say sorry instead of giving a wrong answer, which has a bad effect on the interview panel.
One should also not lose confidence till the last question even if he had not answered many questions because they see the confidence level of the candidate.
Any Message
Hard work is the key to success but the candidates should also be ready to take chances. I have seen many well prepared candidates but they do not appear in the competitive exams, this is very negative attitude. By doing so, the candidates are discouraging other potential candidates and also losing their own chances of success. One can check his or her abilities and skills by appearing in this exam. I wish good luck to all the aspirants.
Jahangir's World Times First Comprehensive Magazine for students/teachers of competitive exams and general readers as well.
