Govt Services: No plan to raise age limit now

The authorities have no plan to increase the age limit for entering government services at the moment, said Farhad Hossain, state minister for public administration, yesterday.

He made the statement while responding to a question from BNP lawmaker Mosharraf Hossain at the parliament.

At present the age limit for entering a government job is 30 years; 32 for freedom fighters' offspring.

Although there was a significant session jam at educational institutions, including universities, in the past, there's no considerable session jam now, the state minister said.

Students generally sit for SSC at the age of 16 and HSC at 18, and they graduate at 23-24. Jobseekers get six to seven years to apply for government jobs after graduation, as the age limit for entering civil service is 30 years at present, he said.

"Moreover, we don't count the extra time from applying for a job to joining, which is required for almost 2-3 years," he said.

Jobseekers in the country have long been demanding to raise the age limit for entering government jobs to 35 years.

Farhad Hossain said they raised the age limit of retirement to 59 from 57 which decreased the number of vacant posts in government jobs. If they raise the age limit for entering in this circumstance, the number of jobseekers will increase at a massive rate.

"That would bring more competition among the jobseekers and create frustration among under-30 jobseekers, that's why we have no plan to raise the age limit," he added.

Responding to a question from the government-leaning MP Ali Azam, the state minister said Bangladesh Public Service Commission had recommended recruiting 35,603 cadres since 2010. In this period, PSC recommended 5,143 first-class non-cadre employees and 5,743 second-class employees.

The question-answer was tabled by Speaker Shirin Sharmin Choudhury.

In August, the public administration ministry proposed to the prime minister to relax the age limit by 21 months due to prolonged academic life caused by Covid-19 restrictions.

The Daily Star could not reach the minister over the phone as it was switched off.