521,922 Posts Remains Vacant in Government Offices

State Minister for Public Administration Abdul Bari has said that 521,922 posts of officers and employees are vacant in various government offices, including ministries, divisions and directorates.
The government has formulated six-month, one-year and five-year action plans to fill these vacant posts. Recruitment activities have already started in all ministries and divisions, including the Ministry of Public Administration.
The Bangladesh Public Service Commission (PSC) has taken strict measures to prevent question leaks, financial corruption and digital fraud in recruitment examinations for BCS and other government jobs. To protect the dreams of hundreds of thousands of educated unemployed youths, major changes have been brought to the entire process, from question preparation to printing and preservation.
During the previous government’s tenure, BCS questions were prepared at the homes of question setters. Now, the questions are prepared in a designated secret room at the PSC. Face-lock technology is being used in the process, and question papers are printed at the PSC’s own press. The same technology has also been introduced to control access to the vault room where question papers are preserved.
The state minister disclosed the information during the question-and-answer session on the second day of the fourth session of the Jatiya Sangsad on Tuesday.
In reply to a written question from Khairul Kabir Khokon, Member of Parliament for Narsingdi-1, he presented the figures on vacant posts in government offices.
The state minister said that according to the latest Statistics of Public Servants 2025, published on the basis of updated staffing information as of June 30 last year, 521,922 posts were vacant in various ministries, divisions and directorates.
To fill these vacancies, the current government has already formulated six-month, one-year and five-year action plans.
He said the government had taken an initiative to recruit 500,000 government employees transparently and quickly in line with the action plans. To this end, the Ministry of Public Administration has sent letters to other ministries and divisions seeking updates on their recruitment activities and information about appointments against vacant posts.
All ministries and divisions have been requested to publish recruitment circulars as soon as possible and prepare time-bound action plans to fill the vacant posts. Recruitment activities have already started in all ministries and divisions, including the Ministry of Public Administration, he added.
Strict security measures to prevent BCS question leaks
In reply to another written question from Abdullah, Member of Parliament for Munshiganj-1, the state minister said the PSC had taken strict measures to keep recruitment examinations for BCS and other government jobs free from question leaks, financial corruption and digital fraud to protect the dreams of hundreds of thousands of educated unemployed youths.
Major changes have been brought to the entire process, from question preparation to printing and preservation. Face-lock technology is being used, and question papers are printed at the PSC’s own press.
Describing the measures taken by the PSC, Abdul Bari said BCS question papers were previously printed at the Bangladesh Government Press (BG Press) or the Army Printing Press. Now, they are printed at the PSC’s own digital printing press.
Members, officers and employees involved in the printing process remain inside the press from the beginning of the work until the examination ends. During this period, they are not allowed to keep mobile phones or electronic devices to communicate with the outside world.
The entire process is personally supervised by the PSC chairman, he added.
He said the vault room used to preserve BCS question papers had been modernised. Only the concerned members and designated officials can now enter the room using face-lock technology. Entry by unauthorised persons into the vault room area is strictly prohibited.
Besides, four police personnel remain on duty round the clock to ensure the security of the vault room.
The state minister also said the question-setting procedure had been changed. Previously, question setters prepared questions at their homes and submitted them to the commission. Now, they come to the PSC and prepare question papers in a designated secret room.