A parliamentary standing committee has recommended extending the age for recruitment into government jobs to 35 years from the existing 30 years, and retirement age from 59 years to 65.
A media statement by the Parliamentary Standing Committee for Ministry of Public Administration on Tuesday said the panel called the ministry to take the steps necessary to revise the matter.
The retirement age for public servants, fixed after the country’s independence, was originally set to 57 years.
In December 2011, Sheikh Hasina cleared a proposal allowing public servants to work till the age of 59, and public servants having a freedom fighters' certificate to work till 61.
The recommendations were made at a meeting of the committee at Jatiya Sangsad Bhaban with its chairman HN Ashiqur Rahman in the chair while committee members ABM Fazle Karim Chowdhury, RAM Obaidul Muktadir Chowdhury, Mustafa Lutfullah, Khorshed Ara Haque, and Mohammad Abdullah attended the meeting.
Earlier this year, college and university students held demonstrations for several months demanding the extension of recruitment age for government jobs to 35 years.
The committee said when the average life expectancy was 45 years, age limit for government jobs was 27, when life expectancy was 50, age limit was 30, and now that average life expectancy is 72, the age limit for entry should also be raised.
However, the government has made it clear that it has no plans to do so despite repeated calls from several quarters, as Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina echoed during question-and-answer sessions at the National Parliament.
The parliamentary panel's meeting also recommended scrapping teacher appointment exams administered by the Non-Government Teachers’ Registration and Certification Authority (NTRCA) and going back to the previous system of having the management bodies of educational institutions appoint teachers.
The Standing Committee said that it found the NTRCA-administered process lengthy, and that it created scope for irregularities.
