The government is set to raise the maximum age limit for both entry and retirement from government jobs.
The maximum age for entry into government jobs may be 35 years for men and 37 years for women. There is a possibility of raising the retirement age to 61 or 63.
The recent review committee report submitted by former senior secretary Dr. Moeed Chaudhary made these recommendations on Thursday.
Speaking to FE, former bureaucrats have praised the proposals to consider raising the average life expectancy at birth and reducing job opportunities in the private sector.
Former bureaucrat Muslim Chaudhary welcomed the proposal to align the civil service entry age with other neighboring countries.
“The maximum age limit is 35 years in India and Pakistan where government job seekers enjoy four to five attempts to crack the exam,” he added.
Mr. Choudhary, however, said that despite the increase in the age limit for entering government jobs, the success rate of participants is always higher between the age limit of 25 and 26 years.
“Applicants above 30 generally develop a sense of agility due to multiple responsibilities at this age,” he added.
Mr Chaudhary, a former Comptroller and Auditor General, also termed the proposal to increase the retirement age as a positive move as far as public interest is concerned. He said that the country would benefit from the experiences of skilled civil service officers.
To a question on whether there would be a delay in civil services promotions, he acknowledged the challenges.
Former Senior Secretary Dr Mehboob Ahmed, however, said that this would not have a major impact as service holders awaiting promotion would also enjoy an extended time for their retirement from jobs.
“This is an appropriate step as many job aspirants have not been able to apply for jobs for two to three years due to the Covid situation. Also in the private sector there is no large scale recruitment,” he said. added.
He added that raising the age limit for entry into government jobs would also help prevent unhealthy and unholy practices of lobbying for promotions.
At present, the maximum age limit for entry into the civil service is 30, while it is 32 for children of libertarians.
Following the demands of the students, the interim government formed a review committee on September 30.
A group of job seekers had long advocated raising the age limit to 35 years.
After the recent political change, students held several demonstrations. Several hundred job seekers gathered in Shah Bagh and eventually staged a sit-in in front of the Chief Advisor’s residence.