The government has decided to raise the upper age limit for doctors and persons with disabilities applying for government jobs to 34, after a recent ordinance set the maximum age for all candidates at 32.
The upper age limit for doctors and persons with disabilities will, however, be 34 years under the new decision.
A senior official of the Ministry of Public Administration said the ministry has, in principle, agreed to provide a two-year additional benefit for doctors and persons with disabilities based on recommendations from the Public Service Commission (PSC).
The ministry has also accepted proposals to maintain the upper age limit of 35 and 40 years for certain computer-related positions in grades five and six, he said.
No decision has yet been made on whether the age limit for children of freedom fighters will be increased, with the matter left to the Council of Advisers in consideration of past experiences.
According to the Ministry of Public Administration, the Government Office Computer Personnel Recruitment Rules, 2019, state that the maximum age for direct recruitment to the posts of Director, General Manager, Deputy Director and Deputy General Manager is 45 years.
The age limit for direct recruitment to Deputy Director/System Manager positions is also 45 years, along with Chief Maintenance Engineer, Senior System Analyst and Senior Maintenance Engineer posts.
Meanwhile, the maximum age for System Analyst, Senior Programmer and Operations Manager positions is 40 years, while Assistant System Analyst, Programmer, Computer Supervisor and Maintenance Engineer posts have an age limit of 35 years.
With the issuance of the ordinance on October 18 last year, these benefits were abolished, reducing the age limit for all candidates to 32 years.
On November 18, the government had issued the Ordinance 2024 on Maximum Age Limit for Direct Recruitment in Government, Semi-Autonomous, Autonomous, Statutory Authorities, Public Non-Financial Corporations, and Autonomous Bodies, which fixed the maximum age at 32 years for all levels of government employment.
As a result, the existing age benefits for doctors, children of freedom fighters, persons with disabilities, and certain computer-related posts were removed.
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The move sparked discontent among various quarters, prompting job applicants to protest. In response, a committee recommended raising the maximum age to 35 years for men and 37 years for women.
The government eventually decided to maintain the age at 32 years for general candidates while allowing 34 years for doctors and persons with disabilities.
Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, former secretary and adviser to the caretaker government, headed the committee, which submitted its report to the Chief Adviser’s office on October 9.
Before the ordinance, the maximum age for general candidates was 30 years, while children of freedom fighters, doctors and persons with disabilities could apply up to 32 years.
Certain grade five and six computer-related positions allowed direct recruitment up to 35 and 40 years. The new ordinance, however, removed these special provisions, aligning their age limit with general candidates.
To address these difficulties, proposals were submitted to the Ministry of Public Administration by various departments and job seekers.
Doctors, who must complete an internship before entering service, demanded that their age limit be extended by two years to 34 years. Following this, the PSC sent a proposal to the ministry.
The PSC recommended adding a new clause to the ordinance, stating, “For positions in any government, semi-autonomous, autonomous, statutory authorities, public non-financial corporations, or autonomous organisations where the maximum age limit before the issuance of this ordinance was 33 years or above, such age limits will remain unchanged.”
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The PSC also suggested implementing this amendment from 18 November 2024.
Later, at the request of the Ministry of Public Administration, the PSC further recommended that the age limit for children of freedom fighters, doctors and persons with disabilities should be higher than for general candidates.
It also suggested retaining the previous age limits of 35 and 40 years for certain grade five and six computer-related positions.