Entry into public jobs: Govt may raise age bar to 32/33

The government considers raising the age limit for public jobs to 32 or 33 amid demonstrations for it to be 35, said sources at the Secretariat.
The current age threshold is 30, and 32 for children and grandchildren of freedom fighters.
The public administration ministry recently formed a committee led by former adviser to a caretaker government, Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, to assess the potential outcome of raising the age limit.
Other members of the committee are public administration ministry’s Senior Secretary Mokhles Ur Rahman, former joint secretary Kowsar Zahura, former additional secretaries Muhammad Iqbal and Saiful Islam.
Members of the committee and seven job seekers will hold a meeting at the public administration today at 10:30am.
Besides, public servants have been lobbying for raising the retirement age to 65 from the current 60. The committee’s mandate is to look into the entry age limit only.
The committee has been asked to look into the age limit practiced in other countries, analyse the cause behind the demonstrations, the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, the Middle East conflict, and the economic downturn.
Committee members will consult educators, hiring authorities, and student organisations and analyse the legal and administrative barriers to making reforms and their possible impact on the labour market and the economy.
Graduates have been demanding that the age limit be increased for several years. Recently, the Bangladesh Administrative Service Association wrote to the cabinet secretary, requesting an increase in both the entry and retirement ages.
On September 22, the government announced that it was not planning to increase the age limit.
However, following a demonstration in front of the Chief Adviser’s residence on September 30, the government has begun actively considering the proposal, according to sources.
SCUFFLING DEPUTY SECRETARIES FACE ACTION
Seventeen deputy secretaries — two of them women — are facing disciplinary action for scuffling at the public administration ministry, confirmed two high-ranking officials and an intelligence source.
The commotion occurred on September 10 at the room of a joint secretary during the appointment process of deputy commissioners. The joint secretary transferred outside Dhaka later.
A committee was formed to determine the culpability of the deputy secretaries involved. Led by senior secretary of the health services division, M A Akmall Hossain Azad, the committee recommended severe punishment for eight individuals, lighter penalties for four, and reprimands for five.
The officials facing major penalties are Nurjahan Khanam, Nurul Karim Bhuiyan, Jasim Uddin, Rebeka Khan, Saiful Hasan, Mohammad Zainul Abedin, Nurul Hafiz, and Motakabbir Ahmed.
Those recommended for lighter penalties are Hasan Habib, A Kuddus, Abdul Malek and Nazrul Islam.
The five others are Sagir Hossain, Muniruzzaman, S M Jahangir Hossain, Hemayet Uddin, and Tofayel Hossain.
None of the high officials were willing to comment publicly on the matter. However, a senior official from the Cabinet Division noted, “If the government wants to assert control over the administration, it must ensure these officials are punished. If not, future incidents could severely damage the administration.”