DU graduate who ranked first in BCS Education Cadre omitted from final gazette

Mohammad Sohel Rana, a former student of the University of Dhaka’s Department of History, has been left out of the final gazette for the 49th BCS (Special) examination despite securing first place in the History subject of the BCS Education Cadre.

The final results had provisionally recommended 668 candidates for appointment, but the gazette published on Wednesday (September 30) contains the names of only 611 candidates. As a result, 57 candidates provisionally selected in the final results were not included in the final gazette.

Sohel Rana, from Kukhapara village in Sonaray Union of Nilphamari Sadar, secured first place in History under the Education Cadre. The son of farmer Abu Hossain and homemaker Sahida Begum, he completed his bachelor’s degree in History from DU in 2020 with a CGPA of 3.54 and his master’s in the same department in 2021 with a CGPA of 3.56.

He obtained GPA 5.00 in the 2014 SSC examination from Sonaray Sanglashhi High School in the Science group and GPA 4.92 in the 2016 HSC examination from Carmichael College in Rangpur.

Reacting to his achievement after the BCS results were published, Sohel had told The Daily Campus that the success was not his alone but the result of the efforts of his parents, teachers and family.

“This achievement is not mine alone. It is the result of the hard work of my parents, teachers and everyone in my family. I had dreamed of becoming a teacher since childhood and contributing to positive change in society. I believe that with focus, hard work and patience, it is possible to achieve something significant even if you come from a village.”

However, his name was not found in the final gazette published on Wednesday. Expressing his frustration on Facebook, Sohel wrote, “Thank you, Bangladesh, for depriving me of the gazette despite securing first place in the 49th BCS Education Cadre.”

57 provisionally selected candidates omitted

When the 49th BCS final results were published, the Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC) said 668 candidates had been provisionally recommended for appointment against 683 vacant posts in different positions under the BCS (General Education) Cadre.

The commission said candidates could not be recommended for 15 posts because suitable candidates were not available.

Following subsequent procedures, the Ministry of Public Administration issued the final gazette appointing 611 candidates to entry-level posts in the BCS (General Education) Cadre. The final gazette therefore contains 57 fewer names than the number of candidates provisionally recommended in the final results. 

The gazette does not, in itself, establish the individual reasons why the 57 candidates, including Sohel, were not included.