The federal cabinet on Friday approved increase in upper age limit from 28 to 30 years for the candidates of Central Superior Services (CSS) exams.
Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif chaired the special meeting of the federal cabinet in Punjab’s Governor House in Lahore which was held to discuss the developing situation in the Indian Occupied Kashmir.
In the first cabinet meeting after his surgery, 112 more items including increase in upper age limit for CSS candidates were presented for approval before the PM.
Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal announced the development of increase in age. He tweeted that, “Cabinet approves increase in upper age limit from 28 to 30 years for CSS exams to benefit youth from backward areas [and with] higher qualification”
At the start of January this year, Ahsan Iqbal announced that the upper age limit for appearing in the CSS examination will be increased to 30 years instead of 28 from 2017 as per the civil services reforms. For the purpose, a summary of the proposed increase in age limit was moved to the Establishment Division.
On March 8, this proposal was disapproved by the PM unilaterally, without confronting those who had prepared the scheme after a series of meetings and prolonged consultations. At that time, the PM House stated that, “The increase in the number of academic years from 14 to 16 for a bachelor’s degree is really no justification to enhance the upper age-limit for CSS candidates”.
Many forums including the Senate had urged the government to do necessary legislation for increasing the age limit of the candidates appearing in the CSS examination.
It is pertinent to mention here that the upper age limit for the CSS examination was 30 years, before the era of General Pervez Musharaf who decreased the age limit to 28. At that time, the decision was taken in a National Security Council’s meeting in 2000.
All the South Asian Association Regional Cooperation countries have age limit of 30 years or above for civil service exams.