NUT Charges FG to Review Teachers' Retirement Age to 65 Years

The President, Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), Dr Muhammed Idris, on Thursday charged the Federal Government to review retirement age of teachers from 60 to 65 years and put a judicious welfare package in place for teachers nationwide.

Idris gave the charge at a news conference to mark the 2018 World Teachers’ Day in Abuja.

The NUT president also called for the reversal of retiring teachers annually without a commensurate recruitment to fill the vacant positions.

He maintained that it is important for stakeholders in the sector to join hands with the union in demanding a professional salary structure for teachers and to make it more appealing to young Nigerians.

According to him, “Young graduates of education discipline and prospective teachers have ignored teaching profession because of the kind of salary teachers were receiving.

“The right to education will be vain, vague, a mirage and elusive, without the presence of an optimum number of qualified, well-remunerated and motivated teachers in the nations’ schools,” he said.

Similarly, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Sonny Echono, pledged a continuous cooperation and partnership with NUT.

“We are pleased to report that we have been working very hard in Nigeria. Teachers, as one body, have made valuable contributions to policy development in our society.

“It is grounded on the fact that they were talking about huge deficit in the number of teachers.

“ The argument is that the coalitions of this in the university system; professors are allowed to stay up to 70 years.

“In other institutions, 65 years; but why are we limiting teachers in the secondary and primary to 60 years.

“This is the policy issue that the ministry will take up. The ministry is, therefore, assuring that these policy instruments are intended to meet with the demands of the teaching profession,’’ Echono said.

He said that one key factor in ensuring quality teaching and learning was the availability of quality welfare for teachers to attract the best brains and commitment to the sector.