Entry into public jobs: Govt raises age bar to 32

The government has approved raising the maximum age for applying for public service jobs to 32 years.

This decision was made at a meeting of the interim government's advisory council, said a press release issued by the Cabinet Division today.

The ordinance was approved following discussions in the advisory council meeting.

The maximum age limit for entry into all cadres of the Bangladesh Civil Service as well as all government jobs will be set at 32 years.

For autonomous and semi-autonomous organisations, the respective recruitment rules will be applied with necessary adaptations.

In the case of Defense Services and Law and Order Forces, their respective recruitment rules will remain in effect, it said.

Additionally, based on this Ordinance and the authority given by Section 59 of the "Government Employment Act, 2018", the Ministry of Public Administration will amend the "Bangladesh Civil Service (Age, Qualification, and Examination) Rules, 2014".

The number of times a candidate can take part in the Bangladesh Civil Service Examination will also be capped at three, the press release said.

There is currently no cap on the number of times candidates can sit for exams.

The current age threshold is 30, and 32 for children of freedom fighters.

For several years, graduates have been demanding that the government job entry age limit be increased to 35 years. They blocked the Shahbagh intersection during demonstrations on numerous occasions.

The protests intensified after the government on September 22 announced that it was not planning to increase the age limit.

It formed the review committee on September 30 after hundreds of jobseekers staged a massive demonstration in front of the chief adviser's residence.