In January 1997, I published an article, titled The CSS English Paper: A Scrutiny, in Dawn.

The argument was simple: the English (Précis and Composition) paper of the Central Superior Services (CSS) examination tested neither authentic language proficiency nor the communicative skills required of a modern civil servant. Instead, it relied on archaic formats, ritualised exercises, and decontextualised language fragments, that distorted both teaching and learning.

Nearly three decades later, the English paper of 2025 forces a sobering conclusion: nothing of substance has changed.

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