The Bangladesh Public Service Commission's reported decision to come up with two job circulars for appointment to the Bangladesh Civil Service (BCS) ---one of them especially concerning only medical graduates --- within a couple of weeks is most welcome. This unprecedented move has been taken in order to avoid the age bar of would-be candidates. It has been prompted by coronavirus that has already stalled the 41st BCS examination scheduled to have been held earlier this year. The situation is not at all propitious for holding such an examination now. So, the idea is to skirt around the age limit fixed at 30 for general candidates and 32 for children and grand-children of freedom fighters for application. If the formalities for the especial 42nd and 43rd regular BCS exams are completed, the candidates will be able to appear for the competitive exams whenever those can be held.
Several batches of graduates and post-graduates who were born between 1981 and 1996 are considered the millennial generation because they are facing the toughest competition for employment, income and a decent living. The next generation known as Generation (Z) in popular culture and journalistic parlance in the West, may not count itself any luckier particularly because of the once-in-a-century pandemic. Economies all across the globe have tumbled and those that did not do so had to be contented with a much lower gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate than was predicted before the Covid-19 onslaught for the current fiscal year. If the millennials and Gen Z are hard put globally, their counterparts in Bangladesh perhaps face more adversities on account of a mismatch between education and the employment market. A Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS) research finding last year held the unemployment rate among graduates and post-graduates in the country at 33.19 per cent. Of them, 36.6 per cent with a graduation degree and 34.3 per cent of post-graduation holders were unemployed.
Clearly, the country is facing daunting challenges for providing for the increasing army of the jobless young population. The BCS is considered the most lucrative employment ever by many because of a handsome pay package and corresponding perks. But this small country cannot afford the luxury of maintaining a top-heavy administration. Yet the BPSC, to its credit, has been trying to accommodate as many talented youths in the bureaucratic fold as it can. That the civil service falls short of serving the country and its people at the highest level is a matter of regret. Shedding their colonial mindset, the new generation of civil servants must serve the people the way they should.
However, it is unfair to expect that the civil service will accommodate all the young talents. The private sector of the country also needs creative geniuses. Quality education can help a burst of creative energy in different areas of human development. With information technology taking the centre stage, talented and ambitious youths now have the opportunity to compete with the world's best. They can create employment instead of seeking jobs under a conventional job regimen. So collaboration between business/industry and universities can open up a wide avenue of employment and add momentum to business and industrial productivity.
