The Police Headquarters has recommended suspending the recruitment process for all 310 police cadre posts from the 44th to 47th Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) examinations.

The public administration ministry held preliminary discussions on the matter yesterday but made no final decision after receiving the recommendation via the home ministry.

At least four officials from both ministries confirmed this to The Daily Star.

A home ministry source said the Police Reform Commission proposed the formation of a separate commission for recruitment to the force.

Since this matter is currently under process, the PHQ suggested suspending recruitment so that future police appointments can be conducted through the proposed commission, the source said.

Another home ministry source said it did not take a separate stance on the issue. Since recruitments fall under the jurisdiction of the public administration ministry, the recommendation was forwarded to it.

Confirming the receipt of the letter containing the PHQ recommendation, a senior public administration ministry official told The Daily Star, "We have received the recommendation, but no final decision has been made yet."

"Recruitment for a BCS batch involves multiple stages. The hiring process for these BCS batches has already progressed significantly. At this stage, we need to carefully assess whether suspending the recruitment would be appropriate," the official said, requesting anonymity.

A source from the public administration ministry said it did not have updated information on the current status of recruitment from these BCS exams. It may consult the Public Service Commission (PSC), which oversees BCS recruitment, for its opinion. The ministry was yet to officially communicate with the PSC.

Another source said that the government has already faced significant criticism due to repeated police verifications in recent BCS recruitments. Suspending police cadre recruitment from four BCS exams could further complicate matters for the government.

A revised notification for the 47th BCS exams on December 26 last year announced 3,487 vacancies, including 100 under the police cadre. The application process started on December 29 and will run until January 30.

Revised results of the 46th BCS exams were published on November 27 last year, and the remaining process to fill 3,140 vacant posts, including 80 under the police cadre, is pending.

The 45th BCS had 2,309 vacancies, including 80 under the police cadre. The written exams took place in January last year, but the results are yet to be published.

The number of vacant posts for the 44th BCS is 1,710, including 50 under the police cadre. As many as 3,930 candidates for the 44th BCS are taking fresh viva voce since the newly constituted PSC cancelled the previously conducted oral examinations and scheduled fresh tests from January 5 to February 5.