Lack of coordination among recruiters hurts job seekers

A lack of coordination among government agencies holding recruitment tests is wasting time and money of the aspirants looking to enter public service in Bangladesh, jobseekers  say.

Md Maniruzzaman, 28, applied for 12 jobs at government agencies in the last four years since graduation. But he has so far sat for two recruitment tests as the pandemic forced suspension of most of the examinations.

He said 12 institutions would hold recruitment exams on October 8. “Recruitment tests for five of the jobs I’m applying for will be held on that day,” he said. 

Like Maniruzzaman, thousands of applicants are facing the same problem. Job seekers have to spend as much as Tk 1,000 for some of these applications which becomes an added financial burden on them and their families.

According to the Ministry of Public Administration, 3,87,338 positions in civil service remain vacant against 18,21,284 posts. On September 17, various government and private institutions, including DDM, BIWTA, Titas Gas, BRTC, BREB and BSEC, held 21 recruitment tests, candidates said. 

On October 8, Titas Gas Transmission and Distribution Company, National Security Intelligence, Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR), Civil Aviation Authority of Bangladesh (CAAB), Bangladesh Gas Fields Company Limited (BGFCL) and Bangladesh General Insurance Company Ltd, among others, are scheduled to hold recruitment tests.

Titas Gas General Manager and Secretary Munir Hossain Khan told The Business Post that the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) was conducting the recruitment test.

“We had to compensate the IBA as they postponed the test once due to Covid,” he said, adding that they would not tell IBA to push back recruitment tests. 

BGFCL DGM (HR) Md Billal Hossain said that they too leased out the test to the IBA of Dhaka University and BUET.

He said they plan to recruit 84 staff. 

IBA Director Professor Mohammad Abdul Momen told The Business Post that they have nothing to do as they conduct the tests as per the recruiters’ recommendations. 

BCSIR Chairman Professor Dr Md Aftab Ali Shaikh said that he was not aware of the issue. “I will talk to the officials soon about what can be done in this regard. I cannot promise anything now,” he said.

Government jobs that guarantee regular pay are highly sought-after in Bangladesh where employment opportunities are few in other sectors.

The Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics data (2017) showed that 6.08 crore of the country’s 6.35 crore workforce was employed, which means the unemployment rate was 4.2 per cent or 27 lakh. 

The unemployment situation became severe due to Covid-19 as many people lost their jobs while fewer opportunities had been created. An ILO report in 2021 showed that Bangladesh’s unemployment rate increased to 5.3 per cent last year from 4.2 per cent in 2019. 

Associate Professor Mohammad Mojibur Rahman of Dhaka University’s Institute of Education and Research told The Business Post that the problem became acute this time as recruiters started holding tests all at once as they could not hold them during the pandemic. 

“Coordination is a must. They can do it by forming a committee or a body,”  Mojibur said, adding that it is the applicants’ right to sit for the tests.

He also suggested a combined recruitment system as most tests are similar except for some specialised jobs.

Candidates too demanded the government start a combined recruitment system which would save time, money and hassle.

Md Al Mamun, a Dhaka University graduate, said the government extended 21 months for applicants who exceeded their job age after March 24, 2020.

The government cleared the way for them to apply for jobs until December 31, except for Bangladesh Civil Service.

“These circulars are my last hope to get a government job for which I have spent six years of my life. The mismanagement of agencies is now dashing my hopes,” he said.