Govt job entry: Experts welcome decision to raise age limit to 32

Experts have welcomed the decision to raise the age limit for entry into government jobs by two years to 32 as a positive move.

They believe the review committee's proposal to raise the bar to 35 years for men and 37 for women was not well thought out. Thus, not implementing the recommendation was a balanced decision, the experts said.

Some experts think that the increased age limit may still not be appropriate for lower-grade jobs.

Talking to this newspaper, former cabinet secretary Musharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said the decision to raise the maximum age to 32 years was "better" than the panel's proposal, which was "quite disappointing".

"From my experience in government service and training sessions, I noticed older candidates tend not to perform well in competitive exams. Even when they pass, they usually lag behind younger candidates in training and the workplace," Bhuiyan added.

In response to a question, Bhuiyan talked in favour of fostering private sector growth by changing the mindset that everyone must qualify for the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) or other government jobs.

"It is not feasible for the government to create that many job opportunities. Instead, the government should facilitate private sector growth and create conditions that encourage entrepreneurship, thus balancing job opportunities," he added.

Besides the maximum age, the interim government's advisory council on Thursday decided to cap the number of BCS exams a candidate is allowed to take at three.

Firoz Mia, a public administration expert and writer, applauded the decision to limit the number of attempts a candidate can make for BCS as a commendable step.

"If a candidate cannot succeed in three attempts, they should pursue alternative plans."

He also said the increased age limit should not apply to all job categories.

For roles where the minimum qualification is a Higher Secondary Certificate (HSC), the entry age should be capped at 26 to 27 years because a person typically achieves their HSC by the age of 18 or 19 years, Firoz pointed out. These candidates do not face session delays in their academic careers either.

Firoz is also concerned about the possibility of highly qualified candidates applying for lower-grade positions late in their careers.

"We now see many university graduates feeling disheartened due to low pay after joining a peon's post, which hampers their focus and productivity," he said.

Abul Kashem Md Mohiuddin, secretary of the planning ministry's Implementation Monitoring and Evaluation Division, believes that increasing the age limit was likely not in the government's initial plans..

It considered the desires of the youth and thus addressed an "inequality" in the job entry process, he said.

He said limiting the number of BCS exams a candidate can take was an excellent decision.

"During my time as an additional secretary at the public administration ministry, this initiative was discussed multiple times, and seeing its implementation now is satisfying."