Online Desk  :  The protesters have rejected the government’s decision to increase the upper age limit for entering public sector jobs to 32 years. They also vowed to continue their movement until their demand to raise the age limit to 35 years is met. Shariful Hasan Shuva, convener of the ‘Student coordination council seeking age limit to 35’, made the announcement in a press conference at Jatiya Press Club on Thursday afternoon. He said the government’s today’s decision to raise the age limit to 32 years did not reflect their demand as they long have been seeking to extend it to 35 years.

Today the interim government’s advisory council approved a draft ordinance to raise the age limit for applying to government jobs to 32 years. The move follows a series of protests by job seekers demanding an increase in the age limit, which had previously been set at 30 years. Abdul Mueed Chowdhury, the convener of the committee tasked with reviewing the age limit, stated that there was “justification” for the increase, particularly in light of the difficulties many applicants faced due to the COVID-19 pandemic and session delays.

Although the committee did not initially specify how much the limit would be raised, it acknowledged that protesters had called for the age cap to be extended to 35 years. In response to the protests, a five-member committee was formed to review the demands. The committee includes Md. Mokhlesur Rahman, Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration, along with former senior officials Kawshar Zahura, Mohammad Iqbal, and Mohammad Saiful Islam from the Finance Division.