Late results.

HUNDREDS of thousands of young Pakistanis take the general recruitment (GR) exams conducted by the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) each year. The large swarms of candidates at these exams indicate how desperate our youth is for employment opportunities, which are becoming a rare commodity with each passing day.

Although these numbers might not be sufficiently accounted for in the national economic surveys, that in no way alleviates the plight of the youth. Adding to the despair of these job-seekers is the snail-paced recruitment process of the FPSC.

The overall recruitment cycle for the GR exams takes anywhere between 18 and 24 months. After taking the initial screening tests, candidates have to wait for close to 6-8 months to know how they performed. This is despite the fact that the candidates pay an application procession fee to the FPSC.

It turns out that these eternal delays in result announcements are not inevitable. Almost all the tests are based on multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and are thus designed to be assessed through technologies that can...