THERE have been some suggestions in recent times that the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) should bring reforms and disallow doctors from

appearing in Central Superior Services (CSS) examination. We would do well to explore why medical doctors prefer a CSS career instead of practising in a field where they have been trained for years to become professionals.

Indeed, there may be several reasons for doctors to think of joining the CSS ranks, but two are obvious. First is the lack of career counselling at an early age, and the second is the lust for power. It is common to see majority of students being clueless about their field of study in high school. In essence, they are seen struggling even while deciding which group — pre-engineering, pre-medical or humanities — they should opt for after matriculation.

As a result of lack of guidance, they are forced to choose the category their parents select for them, which eventually leads them to study the field they actually have no interest in. This is a huge blunder and is bound to have negative effect on one’s life. When students are forced to study in such circumstances, they unwillingly meet the field’s requirements, but they eventually end up changing their prof- ession. Therefore, we get to see a number of medical doctors continuously applying for CSS jobs.

The second factor, a critical one, is the lust for power. In a society where there is no justice and rule of law, only those with power and influence can survive and live a better life. Let me quote my own example as a person craving for ‘power’. I am serving as a teacher in the Sindh Education Department in BPS-14. I have been applying for some time for even BPS-9 posts in law-enforcement agencies. Though I know, I would go down the ladder, I am willing to go through this transition, for I need power as well as influence in society which I can only dream of while serving in the Education Dep- artment. Even if I get elevated to BPS-18 as a teacher, I will have no ‘influence’. We may not like it, but these are the hard facts of life in an unjust society.

Rather than asking the FPSC to bar medical professionals from appearing in CSS examinations, the government needs to appoint trained as well as skilled career counsellors at every high school across the country to guide the students about fields that are best suited to their aptitude.

Further, as long as we have ‘selective’ justice in society, the lust for power will keep luring the masses. Can we change our social realities? I have my doubts.

Rawal Jamal
Jacobabad

Published in Dawn, August 12th, 2024