Govt Extends Age Limit for Govt Jobs by 21 Months

According to a notice from the Ministry of Public Administration, Bangladesh has decided to expand the age limit for government employees by 21 months due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

All government departments that were unable to publish recruitment announcements due to the COVID-19 pandemic will accept applications from job seekers who were under the age limit on March 25, 2020 until the end of the year, according to the letter, which was sent on Thursday.

That does not, however, apply to jobs under the BCS.

As such, people seeking jobs in the public sector have, effectively, had the age limit raised for 21 months until the end of the year.

Students and jobseekers have been demanding a rise in the age ceiling from 30 for quite some time. They have demonstrated for the demand as well.

The government, however, has not agreed to enhance the maximum age ceiling permanently. It relaxed the age rules in September last year, allowing the candidates who had aged beyond the limit after Mar 25, 2020 to apply.

The Public Service Commission held preliminary tests of Bangladesh Civil Service this year, but very few notices were published for other jobs, leaving many candidates in despair.

State Minister for Public Administration Farhad Hossain on Aug 12 revealed the plan to relax the maximum age requirement again, saying the ministry sent a proposal to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina for her approval.   

The number of vacancies in the government was 387,338, or 21.27 percent of the total in public sector, in July last year.