Public Administration Minister Professor Farhad Hossain said that the recommendation sent by the Ministry of Education to increase the age limit for entering government jobs from 30 to 35 years is a policy decision of the government. He also said that measures will be taken after discussing it with the Prime Minister.

He said this in response to a question from journalists at the secretariat on Sunday (May 5).

The Minister of Public Administration said that the recommendation sent by the Ministry of Education regarding the age limit for employment is a policy decision of the government. I will discuss it with Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Action will be taken as per the instructions given by him.

Farhad Hossain said that the prime minister spoke about the age limit of 35 years for entering the service. He discouraged this. The Prime Minister said that if the age limit is increased, there may be a problem with the retirement time.

Earlier, Education Minister Mahibul Hasan Chowdhury said in a letter sent to the Ministry of Public Administration that at present the age limit of 30 years is followed as a criterion for entering all types of jobs in government, semi-government, private and autonomous institutions. In this situation, students have been protesting on the streets for a long time to demand that the age limit for applying for jobs be made 35 years according to international standards.

The government realized the issue in the election manifesto of Awami League in 2018 in page number 33 in the paragraph on increasing education, skills and employment, it was mentioned that ‘reasonable measures will be taken in view of reality, taking into account merit and skills to increase the age limit for entering government jobs’.

For a long time, a section of job-seeking students have been agitating to make the maximum age limit for job application 35 years. They have been saying that the age limit for job application in different countries of the world is from 35 to 59 years. That is, eligibility is the only criterion for a candidate, not age. In the light of that country, they have been demanding to make the maximum age limit for employment in Bangladesh as 35 years.