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Reconsider age limit for government jobs

Published : Thursday, 26 September, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 752
Sayek Ahmed Sajib
It was a logical demand of the young people of Bangladesh, who have been demanding the revision of a few public recruitment policies for a long time. Their demand for reconsidering the quota policy was met and when it was thought to withdraw the policy, a number of students stood against it. Finally, their ceaseless struggle made a new history in Bangladesh. Perhaps the then government could not understand that a simple matter would change their fate in such an unexpected way. A number of students have been striving to raise the eligibility age ceiling from 30 to 35 years for a long time. But it is unfortunate that their demands did not get any response in this regard. 

Job-seekers have been demanding raising the age limit for nearly twelve years. Recently, they have mentioned some remarkable points that cannot be denied. First of all, the government applies an age ceiling for recruitment, which was revised from 27 to 30 years in 1991 when Bangladesh's average life expectancy was 59 years. Now it has risen to 72.4 years. . Though the average life expectancy of the people of Bangladesh has increased, the age limit of applying for government jobs has not been raised yet. 

Secondly, in the era of 15 years of Awami League, many times this demand of raising the age limit was presented by a lot of job seekers, but the then government did not pay any heed to it. Even the Education Minister mentioned in his correspondence that students have been protesting on the streets for a long time demanding that the maximum age limit for job applications be set at 35 years, aligning with "international standards." Besides, in 2018, the Awami League election manifesto also recognised this issue and pledged that the government would implement practical and justified measures to raise the age limit for entry into government positions, considering merit and skills. 

But ultimately, the demand was not considered. Thirdly, we always say that Bangladesh is going ahead. In the last government era, we dreamt of 'Smart Bangladesh'. But why are we lacking behind in this regard? As the age limit for applying for government jobs in 162 countries is 35 years, it remains open in some other countries. Even our neighbouring country, India, has varying age limits for government jobs, typically ranging from 32 to 42 years, depending on the state and job type. However, for administrative government positions, the minimum age is typically 21 years and the maximum age is 32 years. 

Then why do we think that it will not be well for our country? Fourthly, because of session jams for different reasons, including political unrest at public universities, the students lose the vital period of their lives. Moreover, during the Corona period, 2-3 years were lost. After that, some circulars were given, but many exams were taken on the same date. 

However, there are some mentionable problems in government jobs sectors that should be solved. For example, when job-seekers try to pass the BCS exam, it is seen that they try to get some particular cadres, as those cadres are considered 'valuable' or 'prestigious'. An engineer or a MBBS degree-holder doctor keeps administration or police cadre in the first of their choice list. It is not expected, and it is not a good practice. The candidates of all cadres sit for the same preliminary test. It is not a standard format. 

Doctors spend their valuable time by reading Bangla, English, and general knowledge instead of seeing patients as they have to sit for passing the BCS exam, in which questions are set from these subjects. This is really absurd. Another mentionable fact is that generally secretaries from administration backgrounds lead other sectors also. Instead of it, the secretary for the health ministry should be selected from the health cadre, and the secretaries for the education ministry should come from the education cadre. If the promotion of all cadres is ensured depending on their merit and perspective cadre, then every sector will get expert employees.

Another mentionable point is that all professions should not be bound depending on age limits. The idea of implementing multi-stage age limits can be applied. For instance, maintaining the age restriction at 30 or 35 but allowing entry at later ages based on additional experiences. It will not bring any good thing if we always give emphasis on youth only, as in reality the lack of skills among Bangladeshi youth is really alarming. Memorizing MCQs cannot be the basement for selecting talented people. For example, doctors and teachers are usually experienced with the passing of time. So, for some sectors like these two, there should not be any age requirement for entry into the government job. A good teacher may come from a private institution, and so may a doctor. 

Though some people think that if the age limit for entry into the government job is increased, it will inevitably lead to a rise in unemployment in the country. In this regard, there should be no age limit. Then, job-seekers at first will try to involve him in any work, and after that, they will try for something better. In that situation, they will not wait up to 30 or 35 years for getting any government job. 

In final words, all decisions should be taken considering the betterment of general people, as we have started to dream of building a new country that we got in 1971 after the liberation war, and in 2024 we have got a new Bangladesh, where it is expected that the voice of the general people will be heard that we could not think of in the last 15 years. We should also keep in mind that the practice of protesting for every demand is not a good practice in an independent and democratic country.

The writer is a Lecturer, Department of English, Cantonment College, Jashore



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