‘Buhari’s government favours 65 years retirement age for teachers’

Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, yesterday disclosed that the President Muhammadu Buhari administration supports 60-65 years retirement age for teachers to improve basic and secondary education standard in the country.

Adamu made the administration’s position known during a public hearing to insulate teachers from the retirement age for public servants organised by the House joint Committee on Basic Education and Public Service.

He stated that the Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) had submitted the proposal for a new retirement age to the ministry and the National Assembly for approval.

According to him, the drive was based on the need for teachers’ better performance and the need to have quality tutors in the nation’s education system.

“Nigerian teachers, to some extent, require a reasonable retirement age like their counterparts in India, Canada, Belgium and other countries that have increased the retirement age for teachers to 65 years.

“We are appealing to the House to approve the bill because the ministry is in support of increasing the retirement age of teachers,” Adamu added.

Also speaking during the hearing, Chairman House Committee on Basic Education, Zakari Mohammed, noted that the bill seeks to absolve teachers from public service rule, which sets the retirement age for government workers at 60 and pegged a new retirement age at 65.