New Retirement Age will Motivate Teachers, Says NUT

Kuni Tyessi in Abuja
The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has said that the decision of President Muhammadu Buhari to sign the harmonised retirement age of Teachers’ Bill into law has motivated teachers to deliver more effective service in the classroom.
The union, which expressed confidence that the move would impact positively on the nation’s teaching profession, lauded the Executive Secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), Sonny Echono, for his efforts in the emergence of the Act during his stint as the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education.
The NUT expressed its appreciation in a letter to Echono, which was signed by the NUT Secretary General, Dr Mike Ike Ene, in Abuja weekend.
The letter, addressed to the TETFund boss and dated April 13, 2022, read in part: “The national leadership of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) and the entire teachers of Nigeria hereby express our profound gratitude to you, over the deliberate and painstaking effort that you employed towards the realization of the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022.
“The impact of this well-intended Act will raise the bars of primary and secondary school education through the additional five years of mentorship by the senior and more experienced teachers on the newly employed and junior teachers in the primary and secondary schools. 
“There is no gainsaying in the fact that it will result in higher, quality and efficient service delivery on the part of all the practising teachers across the country.”
The Harmonised Retirement Age of Teachers’ Act clearly states that teachers in Nigeria shall compulsorily retire on attainment of 65 years of age or 40 years of pensionable service, whichever is earlier.
Also, Section 3 of the Act provides that the Public Service Rule or any legislation that requires a person to retire from the public service at 60 years of age or after 35 years of service shall not apply to teachers in Nigeria.