Protesters have issued an ultimatum to the government to raise the age limit for entry into public service jobs to 35 years, demanding the issuance of a notification by Monday.
This ultimatum came at a press conference held at the Dhaka University Journalists' Association on Sunday by the aspirants for the 35-year age limit.
Speakers at the conference said their demand has been pending for a long time, adding that they are being harassed with various excuses.
They said that recently, police even attacked them.
At the conference, Khadija Akter said: “We have been making this demand for 12 years. Day after day, we have been kept in limbo, being told it would happen tomorrow, the next day, or the day after. The age limit of 35 is our heartfelt demand. A notification was promised a while ago, but no decision has been made yet. The interim government must accept our demand for 35.”
The speakers also announced that the protesters would gather at Shahbagh on Monday.
They warned that if the notification is not issued by Monday, the movement will become increasingly intense.
They further said that if any unwanted incidents occur, the general students will not be held responsible.
On September 30, the interim government formed a committee to review the demand for raising the job entry age limit.
The committee is headed by former secretary Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury, who is also the chairman of the Public Administration Reform Commission.
On October 14, Abdul Muyeed Chowdhury informed journalists at the Secretariat that they had recommended raising the maximum age limit for entry into public service to 35 years for men and 37 years for women.
However, the final decision on the age limit will depend on the government’s judgment.