DHAKA: The preliminary test of the 35th BCS (Bangladesh Civil Service) was held at seven divisional cities in the country simultaneously Friday afternoon.

The two-hour multiple choice question (MCQ)-test began at 3:00pm with the participation of 2.5 lakhs aspirants.

For the first time, Bangladesh Public Service Commission (BPSC) has banned the use of calculator during the 200 marks’ preliminary test.

BPSC public relation department Diana Islam Shima told banglanews that any kind of mobiles, electronic communicable devices, calculators, books and bags are not allowed inside test centers during examinations.

“Any examinee is found with electronic communicable device, calculator, book and bag (during the test) will be declared illegible for the test concerned and all other examinations in future, to be administered by BPSC, due to violation of BSC examination rules and regulations”, the officer said.

Each correct answer will carry one mark while half a mark will be penalized for each wrong answer.

Meanwhile, Ministry of Public Administration put a total of 130 officials of BCS Administration cadre on magisterial duty to supervise the test and maintain discipline at the exam centers.

A record number of 244,107 applicants – the highest ever in the BPSC’s history – have registered for the test against 1,803 posts.

A total of 135 applicants sat for the test against each post.

Of the applicants, 55,244 applied for the test in Dhaka division, 21,873 at Rajshahi, 20,469 at Chittagong, 14,078 at Khulna, 16,856 at Rangpur, 9,858 at Sylhet and 5,729 applicants registered for the test in Barisal division.

BDST: 1738 HRS, MAR 06, 2015