Recently students from various universities and colleges staged demonstrations across the country demanding a higher age limit for entry into government services. Raising the age bar from 30 to 35 will suit them. They defend their agitation saying, a student turns to around 28-year-old when s/he finishes university education, especially in the public institutions. As a result, they get only two to three years to prepare themselves for government jobs, which is insufficient. So, the age limit should be increased. The rationale behind their argument is simple and a little explanation will show why.
With reference to the most of the government recruitments advertisements, the age-limit for a government job is 21 to 30 years. A person would not be eligible to apply if s/he crosses the age bar 30. This age limit was fixed at a time when students could complete under graduation programme by 21 years of age. In that era, one could obtain one's under-graduation degree within two years of admission. Presently, the course durations has been extended to three years. And all the public universities offer four years undergraduate programmes for each subject, which were of three years at that time.
If the country had a smooth educational system, then most of the regular university students would complete their undergraduate degree by the time they reached 22-23 years of age and Master degree at the age of 24-25 years.
Unfortunately, at present, the time span of 4-5 years of a regular university student is prolonged up to 7-9 years in most of public institutions, except for a few efficient departments. It means the parents/students have to bear all the educational and living expenses for 3-4 additional years. Probably, that's why there is a saying in the social media- "Session jam has paralysed public universities in Bangladesh as traffic jam paralyses the lives of Dhaka city dwellers." If the graduates could complete their programme timely, they would not be a burden on their families.
Most of the departments of the public universities do not implement their academic calendar. The main reason is the unscheduled closure following clashes between rival political groups of students. As a result, the scheduled classes, examinations, laboratory works and field trips are postponed, even sometimes for an indefinite period. It is also alleged that there is a negligence and delay on the part of the faculty members in examining the answer scripts and publishing the results on time in the public universities. Rrelatively better performances are observed in this respect in the private universities, which have been striving over the years to maintain their academic calendars despite disruptions caused by hartals, transport strikes and non-cooperation movements etc.
We surely have a glorious history of student politics in the past. Now, the question is - do we have a concrete answer whether or not the political practices in the public educational institutions can play a role for the betterment of our country? Opinions reflected in the social media, print or electronic media show that most of the students or their guardians do not support student politics, which these days has degenerated on many counts.
Admittedly, the political practices in the educational institutions and the consequences are the main reasons for campus turbulence. A public debate on this is most welcome. University faculty members or students can play a greater role in the development of the country pursuing intensive research and educational attainments than practising politics in the institutions. There is an overriding need for providing a congenial educational system where the students can think that studentship is her/his profession; if s/he fails to accomplish the responsibilities, s/he will lose the job.
It is also evident that a regular student in a private university or some of the efficient departments of the public universities can complete the graduation programme by the age of 24-25 years. This clearly conveys the message to others that they should also implement the academic calendar on time, if they really so desire. If the faculty members are sincere to do so, then the only barrier is the political uncertainty in the public educational institutions. The barriers have to be removed in order to save at least 2-3 more years for each student. As a result, a fresh graduate can have 3-4 years to prepare for the job market well within the existing age limit of 30 years.
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The author is an assistant
professor of Economics in the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, Dhaka University of Engineering and Technology (DUET), Gazipur.
forhad@duet.ac.bd
Age limit for job entry
Md Abdur Rahman Forhad | Published: March 08, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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