Bill passed in Parliament setting entry age for govt jobs at 32

The Jatiya Sangsad (national parliament) has approved the ordinances issued during the tenure of the interim government, including the Government Service (Amendment) Ordinance, setting the maximum entry age for government jobs at 32.

Two separate bills in this regard were passed in Parliament today, Sunday, thereby turning the ordinances into law.

Of the 133 ordinances promulgated during the interim government’s tenure, a special parliamentary committee recommended approval of 98 in their original form and 15 in amended form. Of the remaining 20, it recommended repealing four and introducing stronger, revised bills for the other 16 at a later stage.

From today, Parliament has begun passing bills to approve the ordinances. For the two bills passed today, the special committee had recommended approval in their existing form. With their passage, a total of four ordinances have now been approved.

State Minister for Public Administration Abdul Bari separately placed the two bills in Parliament for passage. No amendment proposals were raised for either bill, and consequently, no discussion took place.

The ‘Government Service (Amendment) Bill’ and the ‘Bill to Fix the Maximum Age Limit for Direct Recruitment to Government, Autonomous, Statutory Public Authorities and Public Non-Financial Corporations’ were passed by voice vote.

The entire process took around eight minutes, and members of the opposition were not seen to voice either ‘yes’ or ‘no’.

Members of Parliament were informed of the introduction of the two bills through a supplementary agenda.

Rising on a point of order, Opposition Leader Shafiqur Rahman said several bills had been brought under the supplementary agenda. The special committee had submitted its report on the 133 ordinances, some of which had been allowed to lapse (repealed). These were important and connected to the spirit of the July (movement), and the opposition wished to discuss those in Parliament.

In response, Law Minister Asaduzzaman initially said the two bills were not part of the 133 ordinances, but later corrected himself, stating that they were indeed included.

The Opposition Leader then said they wanted every ordinance proposed for lapse to be brought before Parliament for discussion, so they could take part in deliberations.

The Law Minister replied that each ordinance would be placed before Parliament, where there would be scope for discussion. However, the two bills brought today had been unanimously recommended by the special committee for unconditional passage.

At one stage, the Law Minister placed the Government Service Bill for approval. Speaker Hafiz Uddin Ahmad informed the House that there were no clause-by-clause amendment proposals. The clauses were then put directly to a vote and passed by voice vote. The other bill was passed in the same manner.

In the statement of objects and reasons of the bill, the State Minister for Public Administration said that in response to longstanding demands and recognising the necessity, the ‘Ordinance on Fixing the Maximum Age Limit for Direct Recruitment to Government, Autonomous, Semi-autonomous, Statutory Public Authorities and Public Non-Financial Corporations, 2024’ increased the entry age for government jobs by two years to 32. However, some recruitment rules set the entry age between 33 and 45, creating complications. To resolve this, the ordinance was further amended in 2025.

He added that as a constitutional body, the Bangladesh Public Service Commission has already issued circulars maintaining the maximum entry age of 32 for direct recruitment to the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS), and recruitment processes are ongoing; therefore, it is necessary to convert the ordinance into law.

Under this law, the maximum entry age for all BCS cadres and non-cadre government jobs will be 32. The same age limit will also apply to all direct recruitment in autonomous bodies, statutory authorities, public non-financial corporations, and other self-governing organisations.

The interim government amended the Government Service Act in 2025 through an ordinance, which was later revised again. Incorporating those amendments in full, the ‘Government Service (Amendment) Bill-2026’ was placed in Parliament by State Minister Abdul Bari and passed by voice vote without discussion.

The bill includes special provisions relating to the conduct and penalties of government employees. It states that disobeying lawful orders of superiors, refusing to comply with government orders, circulars, or directives without valid legal grounds, obstructing their implementation, or inciting others to do so will constitute misconduct.

The law further states that collective absence from duties without leave or reasonable cause will also be deemed misconduct causing disruption to public service. Preventing any government employee from attending work or performing duties will likewise be considered misconduct.

Such misconduct may result in demotion to a lower post or pay grade, compulsory retirement, or dismissal from service.