Job seekers want age bar for govt jobs to increase to 32 from 30

Job seekers urged the government to permanently raise the age limit to 32 years from the existing 30 years for entry into the government service for the loss due to Covid-19.

Around 1.5 lakh job seekers have already lost their eligibility to apply for government jobs while

the number of advertisements for recruitment has dropped to 13% from 87% during the pandemic, they said.

Young students and graduates pressed home the demand at a press conference at Dhaka Reporters' Unity in the capital on Sunday.

Manik Hossain Ripon, one of them, said, "We have lost almost two years due to Covid-19. At present, no job exam is being held except for Bangladesh Civil Service-BCS examination and some other government recruitment tests for hiring third or fourth-class employees."

The government has given incentives to various sectors affected by Covid-19. "We also want the age limit to go up to 32 years permanently as an incentive," said a student, Marjia Sultana.

Tanvir Hossain, one of the organisers of the movement, said many students had become frustrated after crossing the age limit for government jobs, many got addicted to drugs and many had chosen the path of suicide.  

"We request the prime minister to raise the age bar," Tanvir said.  

"So far, we have waged a systematic constitutional movement. We have already submitted a memorandum to the president and the prime minister. On 6 May, we arranged a human chain and a mass signature programme at the Shahbag intersection in Dhaka in compliance with the Covid-19 hygiene rules. We also arranged a silent rally on 3 June in the parliament building area with the participation of 150 people.

"If the government does not accept our demand, we will hold a rally at Shahbag on 11 June in compliance with Covid-19 hygiene rules and then we will go for a sit-in and a hunger strike to realise our demand," Tanvir added.