Why have age limits for a 'meritocratic' recruitment process?

Saleh Rashid, a recent graduate from Kazi Nazrul Islam College, was sipping on a glass of lemonade at a stall in TSC, Dhaka University campus as his fellow protestors and job seekers chanted slogans at the footsteps of Raju Memorial Sculpture. 

Their demand? Raising the age limit for government job application to 35 years from the existing 30. 

"As a 2015-16 session student, I was supposed to graduate in 2019. That way I could sit for five BCS exams before I surpassed the age limit. However, due to session jams, I was in the second year as of 2019. And then came the infamous Covid-19 pandemic; it took me eight years to finally graduate in 2023," Saleh said. 

Now he is almost 28 and has failed to qualify in the 46th preliminary BCS exam, meaning he has only two more attempts left to land a government job.

Saleh's predicament raises a pertinent question about why we need age limits in the first place for a job that is seemingly decided on merit. 

Dr Sadik Hasan, professor at the Department of Public Administration, Dhaka University, believes that raising the age limit to 35 is not going to be a problem because at the end of the day, it is a merit-based examination. It has nothing to do with age. 

"If you look into the statistics, every season, four to five lakh job seekers sit for the BCS exam and approximately less than 2,000 get the job. So they are already being judged on merit. And I believe if someone has the merit to prove themselves at the age of 35, there should not be a problem," he said.

In the US, for instance, there is no ideal age limit for government jobs. "They can join at almost any age," said Dr Sadik.

In neighbouring India, there are varying age limits for government jobs, typically ranging from 32 to 42 years, depending on the state and job type. For administrative government positions, the minimum age is typically 21 years and the maximum age is 32 years. 

Nepal set a maximum age limit of 35 years for gazetted posts, with provisions allowing applications for deputy secretary and joint secretary positions up to a maximum of 45 years for vacant posts. 

Similarly, Sri Lanka raised its age limit for government job applications from 35 years to 45 years in 2020.

Md Khokon, an administration officer at Oracle, a government job preparation coaching centre, said raising the age limit is unlikely to have a significant impact. Given the highly competitive nature of public sector jobs, especially BCS (the acceptance rate is not even 1% sometimes), the age limit has little to no bearing on the actual composition of the civil service.

"What we have seen in all these years is that after 30, very few have the time, persistence or energy to be this much focused. Eventually they fall behind. So, raising the age limit will not make any difference at the end of the day. It will just ease the stress level of the applicants," he said.

The stats bear out Md Khokon's assertion. Those who pass the BCS exams appear to succeed within a few years of completing their studies. According to the 2023 annual report of the PSC, approximately 40% of candidates in the 41st BCS and about 38% in the 43rd BCS were between the ages of 23 and 25. 

On the other hand, the success rate of older candidates is significantly lower. In the 41st BCS, only about 13%, and in the 43rd BCS, about 16% of candidates were aged 27 or older. Among them, only 1-2% were over 29 years old.

Combating the Engineering and Medical graduate advantage 

As a 2015-16 session student, Saleh graduated in 2023. On the other hand, Ariful Islam Shovon, a 2018-19 session civil engineering student from BUET, who is also preparing for a government job, also graduated in 2023. That means, Shovon has a number of years in hand to try his luck at a government job. 

"Engineering or medical graduates, who have a better grasp on mathematics, science and English, also sit for administration positions, instead of their respective disciplines. When they graduate years before me, they can sit for more exams," said Mohsina Akhter, a 27-year-old graduate from Munshiganj, who is preparing for a government job exam. 

Out of 410 officers recruited in administration, police and foreign services through 35th to 40th civil service examinations, 57 were physicians and engineers. Some 342 officers have been recruited in the three cadre services through 40th BCS and 102 of them are engineers and physicians. Fifty officers alone in the administrative service recruited through the 40th BCS came from Buet.

One of the reasons engineering and medical graduates prefer the general service cadre is that promotions come much earlier compared to the specialised cadres. 

There has been a long standing discrimination between the administration cadre and engineering, agriculture, and medical cadres. The administration cadres enjoy timely promotion, vehicle and accommodation facility, special allowance, foreign trips and postings. Many believe these rules should be revised. 

Abdul Gaffar, a 40th BCS health officer posted in Rajbari Sadar hospital, said, "The admin cadres I got into the service with are already up for a promotion and it will take me years to get to the same position and salary rank. I will have to address them as sir and ma'am. This is what discourages many specialised graduates from applying to their respective fields."

Time for change

Age limits for public service have existed for a long time in Bangladesh.

During the final days of British India, the maximum age limit for taking the ICS (Indian Civil Service) exam was 23 years. Later, during the Pakistan era, this age limit was set at 24 years until 1962. From 1963 to 1971, the age limit was 25 years. 

After independence, in 1972, the maximum age limit for entering government service in Bangladesh was set at 27 years. The age ceiling for recruitment in government jobs was raised from 27 to 30 years in 1991 when Bangladesh's average life expectancy was 59 years. 

"The average life expectancy of a Bangladeshi man is 72 years, and a woman is 73. So I think the age limit of applying for government jobs should be raised," Dr Sadik opined. According to Dr Sadik, one of the reasons the Public Service Commission (PSC) fixed a particular age ceiling is because of the high ratio of applicants to jobs. 

In April 2018, when the government job quota reform movement spread among students, age limit was also a part of the agenda. That year, the Awami League election manifesto acknowledged the issue and stated that the government would take measures to raise the age limit. 

In April this year, the Ministry of Education proposed raising the age ceiling for entering government service from 30 to 35 years, but the issue took a back seat to the July uprising. 

On 30 September, protestors again took a stand in front of the residence of the Chief Adviser to the Interim Government Dr Muhammad Yunus, and also held a meeting with him.

That day, the government formed a committee, led by Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, a former caretaker government advisor and current chairman of Biman Bangladesh, to look into the matter. On Wednesday, following a meeting with protestors, the committee said that there is justification for raising the age limit for government jobs. 

"Many have faced difficulties due to Covid-19 and session jams. The current age limit for entering jobs should be raised," Muyeed said. However, he did not mention to what age it should be raised.

Dr Sadik sees a silver lining in raising the limit. Many of his students are already into BCS studies, giving less priority to the academic studies. 

"If the age limit is increased, the students will at least pay attention to their academic syllabus and know more about the subject they are studying, which will eventually help them get a job in that field," Dr Sadik said.