Students want raising of govt job age limit to 35

Several hundred students from different colleges and universities blocked the capital's Shahbagh intersection for about an hour yesterday, demanding that the age limit for entry into government jobs be increased to 35 from 30.

Under the banner of "Bangladesh Sadharan Chhatra Parishad", they blocked the roundabout from 4:30pm to 5:15pm, halting traffic.

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Later, police charged the demonstrators with batons to disperse them and detained at least 13 students, including their leaders Imtiaz Hossain and Sanzoy Kumar Das, on the spot.

Abu Bakar Siddique, officer-in-charge of Shahbagh Police Station, confirmed to The Daily Star that no case was filed in this regard till 7:00pm.

Shibli Noman, assistant commissioner of Dhaka Metropolitan Police (Ramna Zone), told reporters that police had to intervene in the situation because the students were obstructing public life.

Even after being dispersed, the protestors reassembled in front of Bangladesh National Museum and chanted slogans demanding release of the detainees.

Earlier, they staged a protest rally on the same venue from 3:00pm to 4:25pm. They threatened to go for tougher movements, if their demand for setting the minimum age limit is not met before the 37th BCS exam is advertised.

Later, they brought out a procession blocking the intersection.

The demonstrators said students generally finished university education at the age of 28. As a result, they get only two to three years to prepare for government jobs, they said.

So, it is a very logical and fair demand for raising the age limit, said Mukto Hossain, an agitating student of Dhaka University.

Jahurul Islam, a student of Dhaka College, said they would continue their demonstration until the demand was met.