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Bangladesh Church against raising age limit for govt jobs

Desperate job seekers want the upper limit for recruitment to be increased from the current 30 to 35 years
Bangladesh Church against raising age limit for govt jobs

Job seekers in Bangladesh hold a protest to demand an increase in the upper age limit for recruitment to government jobs. (Photo supplied)

Published: April 08, 2022 05:24 AM GMT
Updated: April 08, 2022 06:52 AM GMT

A Church official and Catholic student leader in Bangladesh have backed a federal minister who has declined to increase the upper limit for recruitment to government jobs from the current 30 to 35 years.

“The government has no plans to raise the age limit for entry into government service,” State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain told parliament on April 5, referring to the long-pending demand from job aspirants across the nation.

Holy Cross Father Bikash James Rebeiro, executive secretary of the Youth Commission of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Bangladesh, felt the 30-year upper limit was a fair deal and needn’t be increased.

“The rate of education in the country is much higher now, so if the upper limit for entry into government jobs is extended there will be a marked increase in job applicants resulting in tougher competition,” the priest told UCA News.

Swopnil Cruze, president of the Bangladesh Catholic Students Movement, concurred with Father Rebeiro. “I don’t think you need that many years after graduation to prepare for a government job. Also, waiting too long to crack the entrance test can lead to frustration,” said Cruze, who is a master’s degree student at the University of Dhaka.

Their views seemed to get well with those of the minister. “Raising the age limit for entering government services would make the recruitment test more competitive and increase frustration,” he said in parliament.

“You start preparing for the job entrance test after your graduation. Someone like me also has to work to survive, which affects our preparedness. So increasing the cap will better our chances”

The average age at which students in Bangladesh graduate is 23-24 years, which means they get about five to six attempts to crack the job entrance test.

However, Sanjoy Palma, a 25-year-old Catholic from the Dinajpur Diocese, feels the upper age limit should be raised to at least 32 years. “You start preparing for the job entrance test after your graduation. Someone like me also has to work to survive, which affects our preparedness. So increasing the cap will better our chances,” he said.

Ismail Hossain, 29, has a master’s degree in economics from Dhaka’s Jagannath University and hardly has another year left to qualify for a government job. “My problem is many private companies also have 30 years as a cut-off for applying. Now where does someone like me go?” he asked.

Hossain has made four unsuccessful attempts and missed appearing the last time. He fears ending up unemployed.  “It will make me cry for the rest of my life,” he said.

A government job or service is much coveted in a country like Bangladesh where 47 percent of educated people are unemployed, according to the latest survey by the Bureau of Statistics.

Nearly two million young Bangladeshis join the labor force annually and only a few who land government jobs are lucky enough to enjoy assured work and pay until the retirement age of 59 years.

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