The Cabinet Division has proposed setting the age limit for entry into government service at 35 years and the retirement age at 65 years, initiating steps to meet the demands of a movement that has persisted for over a decade.
A letter, signed by Cabinet Division Joint Secretary Mohammad Sazzad Ul Hasan and issued on Wednesday, disclosed the proposal. The Business Post has obtained a copy of the letter.
Currently, existing regulations set the age limit for entry into government jobs at 30 years, with the retirement age fixed at 59. However, freedom fighters benefit from an additional two years of service. Moreover, the age limit for entry into government jobs for children of freedom fighters was set at 32 years, giving them an additional two years to apply.
The Cabinet Division’s letter states, “A letter received from the Bangladesh Administrative Service Association is attached here with the aim of raising the age limit for entry into government service to 35 years and retirement age to 65 years.
“As the Ministry of Public Administration jurisdiction is relevant with this matter, it is requested to kindly notify and take necessary measures.”
In 1991, the age limit for applying for government jobs in Bangladesh was raised from 27 to 30 years. Later, in 2011, the retirement age was increased from 57 to 59 years. The Awami League government, which was removed from power following a mass uprising, included in its 2018 election manifesto plans to extend the age limit for government job applications.
However, despite numerous protests, including hunger strikes by job seekers, the outgoing government did not fulfil their election promise.
For many years, job seekers have been demanding that the age limit for entry into government service be raised to 35. Recently, demonstrators blocked the Shahbagh intersection in Dhaka as part of their ongoing protests. On September 7, hundreds of candidates gathered at Shahbagh, severely disrupting traffic in the capital.
Protesters claim they have been campaigning for a 35-year age limit for 14 years, yet the issue remains unresolved. They are now seeking the intervention of the chief adviser of the interim government.
The topic was also discussed in parliament under the previous Awami League government. Former Public Administration minister Farhad Hossain, on July 3 this year, declared that there were no plans to increase the age limit to 35 years for government jobs.
He explained that if the age limit were raised, the number of applicants for various positions would increase dramatically, leading to heightened competition and potentially causing frustration among candidates under 30.
He also noted that while universities and educational institutions once faced severe session jams, such delays have become minimal. Most students complete their secondary education and master's degrees by the age of 23 or 24. With the age limit set at 30, graduates still have around six to seven years to apply for government positions.
Additionally, Farhad Hossain pointed out that the hiring process for government jobs takes about one to two years, effectively allowing candidates to join at nearly 35 years of age.
