The government is considering raising the age limit for government jobs to 32 or 33, amid protests for it, secretariat sources said.

The current age limit for children and grandchildren of freedom fighters is 30 and 32.

The Ministry of Public Administration has recently formed a committee headed by former advisor to the caretaker government, Abdul Moeed Chaudhary, to examine the possible consequences of increasing the age limit.

Other members of the committee include Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Public Administration Mukhlisur Rehman, former Joint Secretary Kausar Zahoora, former Additional Secretaries Muhammad Iqbal and Saiful Islam.

Committee members and seven job seekers will meet today at 10:30 a.m. in Public Administration.

Also, civil servants are lobbying to raise the retirement age to 65 from the current 60. The mandate of the committee is only to look at the age limit for admission.

The committee has been asked to examine the age limit in other countries, the reasons behind the protests, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russia-Ukraine war, the Middle East conflict and the economic downturn.

Committee members will consult with academics, hiring officials, and student organizations and analyze legal and administrative barriers to reform and their potential impact on the labor market and economy.

Graduates have been demanding an increase in the age limit for many years. Recently, the Bangladesh Administrative Service Association wrote to the Cabinet Secretary, requesting an increase in both the entry and retirement ages.

On September 22, the government announced that it was not planning to raise the age limit.

However, after the demonstration in front of the Chief Adviser’s residence on September 30, according to sources, the government has started actively considering the proposal.

Deputy Deputy Secretaries face action

Two senior officials and an intelligence source confirmed that seventeen deputy secretaries — two of whom are women — are facing disciplinary action in the Public Administration Ministry for tampering.

The commotion took place in the joint secretary’s room on September 10 during the appointment process of deputy commissioners. Later, the Joint Secretary was transferred out of Dhaka.

A committee was formed to determine the culprits of the involved deputy secretaries. The committee, headed by Health Services Division Senior Secretary MA Akmal Hussain Azad, recommended severe punishment for eight persons, light punishment for four and reprimand for five.

Among the officers facing heavy fines are Noor Jahan Khanum, Noorul Kareem Bhuyan, Jasimuddin, Rebecca Khan, Saiful Hasan, Muhammad Zainul Abedin, Noorul Hafeez and Mutakbir Ahmed.

Those recommending lighter sentences include Hasan Habib, A Quddus, Abdul Malik and Nazr Islam.

Five others include Sagheer Hussain, Munir-ul-Zaman, SM Jahangir Hussain, Humayatuddin and Tufail Hussain.

None of the top officials were ready to comment publicly on the issue. However, a senior official of the Cabinet Division noted, “If the government wants to establish control over the administration, it must ensure that these officials are punished. If this is not done, future events will seriously harm the administration.” can.”