THE dream of joining the civil services is not merely a career aspiration in our society; it is an entire social phenomenon.

The Central Superior Services (CSS) and Provincial Management Services (PMS) exams hold the promise of authority, prestige and financial security, making them two of the most sought-after career pathsfor educatedyouth.

Ironically, for an exam that demands intellectual rigour, analytical thinking, proficiency in English writing skills, and a deep understanding of national and global affairs, an entire industry has emerged; one that commercialises ambition rather than cultivating competence.

The CSS-PMS academy mafia and the unchecked rise of self-proclaimed online mentors have turned exam preparation into a profit-driven enterprise, exploiting aspirants` desperation while offering little in return. Rather than producing competent bureaucrats, these entities fuel a cycle of financial exploitation, misinformation and psychological distress, reducing one of the country`s most crucial recruitment processes into a marketplace of illusion.

For decades, CSS coaching academies have thrived on the fear of failure, convincing students that success is not about knowledge, but about paying the right price. With an abysmally low passing rate hovering around two per cent CSS is less a test of intelligence and more a measure of endurance, filtering out thousands each year. Instead of questioning the exam`s inconsistencies, students are led to believe that enrolling in elite academies is the only way to overcome the system barriers.

These institutions charge exorbitant fee, sometimes amounting to hundreds ofthousands ofrupees,forrecycled lectures, generic notes and outdated strategies that fail to align with the increasingly analytical and conceptual approach of the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC). Some academies market `star teachers` mostly former bureaucrats, failed CSS aspirants, andself-proclaimed experts who adopt a one-size-fits-all approach, often detached from the exam`s evolving nature.

Worse still, almost all such academies operate without regulation, meaning they are not held accountablefortheir false promises or exploitative tactics.

They lure students with success stories of a handfuloftop scorers, often neglecting to mention the thousands who fail despite enrolling in the same programmes.

In reality, these academies function not as centres of learning, but as businesses thriving on the desperation of students who lack alternative guidance.

The emergence of social media-based CSS mentors has exacerbated the problem.

Capitalising on the unstructured, competitive and often secretive nature of CSS preparation, self-proclaimed `mentors` dominate social media groups as well as channels, offering guidance without any verified credentials.

The online mentorship industry operates through a carefully crafted illusion of expertise. Some of these mentors have never passed the CSS exam themselves, yet they charge a heftyfeefor`exclusive strategies`, pre-recorded lectures, and answer script reviews that often offer nothingbeyond genericadvice thatis easily available in past papers or recommended books.

The most dangerous aspect of this phenomenon is the false sense of progress it creates. Many students, instead of focussing on self-study, critical reading, and developing analytical skills, spend years hopping from one academy to another, switching between mentors, and buying endless `study plans` only to fail again and again.

The result is not just financial loss, but severe psychological damage, as students internalise failure as a personal weakness rather than recognising the exploitative ecosystem they were caught in.

The CSS-PMS academy mafia and online mentorship culture thrive only because Pakistan`s formal education system is failing. The civil service exam is not merely about memorising notes or following pre-packaged templates; it is a test of intellectual depth, analytical reasoning, and originality.

These are the qualities that cannot be bought from academies or mentors. They have to be cultivated through hardwork, self-discipline and genuine learning.

Zakir Ullah Mardan