October 14, 2024
DHAKA – A government committee has recommended raising the maximum age for applying for public service jobs to 35 years for men and 37 years for women.
The five-member committee, which was formed to review the feasibility of extending the age limit, submitted its report to the Chief Adviser’s Office last week.
Yesterday, a highly placed source with knowledge of the matter confirmed the recommendations to The Daily Star.
According to the source, the committee recommended 37 as the age limit for women because women often face interruptions in their education or careers due to factors such as marriage and childbearing.
The review committee’s proposal will be placed before the Advisory Council for the final nod, which sources said was very likely.
“It will be unprecedented in the history of public service if the recommendations are approved,” said a top official, wishing not to be named.
When asked about the committee’s recommendations, Adviser Ali Imam Majumder, who is attached to the Chief Adviser’s Office, told The Daily Star yesterday that he was not aware of the committee’s proposals.
He confirmed that the report on this matter has been submitted to Chief Adviser Prof Muhammad Yunus. “I hope that a final decision will be made soon after reviewing it.”
Sources in the Cabinet Division mentioned that if the chief adviser was satisfied with the report, he would instruct the Ministry of Public Administration to present it to the Advisory Council.
Such policy decisions must be presented in a meeting of the Advisory Council before being finalised.
Public administration ministry officials stated that increasing the job entry age would require amending several laws and regulations.
They said a meeting with the law ministry would likely take place before the matter was brought to the Advisory Council for discussion to ensure legal clarity.
The committee report did not specify whether the age limit change would be temporary or permanent.
The source with the knowledge of the report indicated that decisions of this nature needed to be revisited periodically, which was why no specific time frame was mentioned.
The current age threshold for all to enter public service is 30. The limit is 32 years for children and grandchildren of freedom fighters.
For several years, graduates have been demanding that the government job entry age limit be increased to 35 years. They blocked the Shahbagh intersection during demonstrations on numerous occasions.
The protests intensified after the government on September 22 announced that it was not planning to increase the age limit. It formed the review committee on September 30 after hundreds of jobseekers staged a massive demonstration in front of the chief adviser’s residence.
Led by former caretaker government adviser Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, the committee considered some key factors, including the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the “deprivation” of candidates during the Awami League government’s tenure, and economic strains from the Russia-Ukraine war.
It also took into account global practices. The committee found that countries like the US have no age limit for government job entry, while Nepal has a limit of 45 years, and some Indian states allow candidates aged up to 36 years.
Other members of the committee are Mokhles Ur Rahman, senior secretary to the public administration ministry; Kowsar Zahura, former joint secretary; Muhammad Iqbal, former additional secretary; and Saiful Islam, an incumbent additional secretary.
The committee members also looked into the factors behind the demonstrations, said sources.
Public service recruitment came to a near halt during the pandemic. Although the previous government announced an age relaxation due to the pandemic, the recruitment process was slow, and fewer new opportunities were created.
But before the country got over the pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war affected the national economy and limited job opportunities in public and private sectors, the sources said.
They said that numerous students were unable to complete their education because of politically motivated cases and harassment during the tenure of the AL regime. It affected their ability to apply for government jobs.
“The committee considered all these factors to recommend an age increase exceeding the demands of the students,” said an official.
The committee members consulted educators, hiring authorities, and student organisations.
It analysed the legal and administrative barriers to making reforms and their possible impact on the labour market and the economy.
Recently, Bangladesh Administrative Service Association (BASA) wrote to the cabinet secretary, requesting an increase in the entry and retirement ages for government jobs.
A senior official of BASA said if the government accepted these recommendations, it might also increase the retirement age, which is currently 59.
The official said government employees typically need to serve at least 25 years to qualify for a pension. Therefore, if the entry age was raised to 35 years, the retirement age would also need to be adjusted accordingly.
The source, who has knowledge of the report, said they did not deal with the retirement age limit.
However, there is optimism that the government may address both issues simultaneously.
Former additional secretary Firoz Mia, a civil service expert, said the government should temporarily increase the age limit to 35 or 37 considering the impacts of the quota system, the pandemic, and political instability.
However, raising the age limit permanently could have “negative” impact, he added.
Increasing the entry age significantly would also necessitate raising the retirement age, he pointed out.
Candidates who are 18 years old can seek posts that need educational qualification below Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC). They would have 12 years to get the job.
“Extending this opportunity from 12 to 18–19 years is entirely unnecessary. Additionally, millions apply for government jobs. Increasing the age limit would further swell the number of applicants, making it harder to manage the process in the long run,” the former bureaucrat said.
The government could have considered adjusting the age limit for higher-grade jobs temporarily, such as the next two rounds of the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) exams, according to him.
The recruitment process itself takes at least a year, and in some cases, it can take two to three years. Those who apply at the age of 35 might only be hired at 37 or 38, by which time their enthusiasm for the job may wane, Firoz said.
“I believe that if young people spend too much time pursuing government jobs after graduation, many will lose interest in becoming entrepreneurs. Moreover, starting an entrepreneurial journey after the age of 35 would have its own complexities.”
However, the government could permanently raise the age limit to 35, 40, and 42 years for ethnic minorities, the transgender community, and people with disabilities, respectively, Firoz said.