FEC okays 65yrs as teachers' retirement age

...40 years in service, *Reintroduce bursary awards in schools

THE Nigeria Federal Executive Council, FEC, has approved the Harmonized Retirement Age for Teachers Bill, 2021, which seeks to give legal backing to new measures by the current administration to enhance the teaching profession in the country.

The retirement age bill to be forwarded to the National Assembly for consideration and approval seeks to move teachers retirement age from 60  to 65 years, while the years of service will also move from 35 to 40.

The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who stated this while briefing State House correspondents at the end of the first council meeting presided over by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Council Chamber, Presidential Villa, Abuja, said some highlights of the bill include the introduction of Bursary award, Special Rural Posting Allowances and other measures to attract the best brains to the profession.

The Minister, who said he presented a memo on behalf of the ministry, explained:  “This memo that was approved for education is a giant step to what we set out to do towards the end of last year, with the President approving some special packages for teachers.

“The Bill which will be called Harmonized Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Bill, 2021 to be sent to the National Assembly for enactment into law.

“So, all the promises the President made and all the approvals he has given me will now be put into effect because this is a legal backing that is required for it. I want to assure teachers that this government will do to them what has never been done. This is the first biggest step.

“The intention is to attract the best brains to the teaching profession. For that, the President approved the reintroduction of bursary awards which I told you here last year, improve teaching quality, and fund teaching practice.

“From TETFUND, he approved an enhanced entry point for teachers. Then, he approved that there should be some special allowances that will allow teachers to be posted to places you can consider ‘hardship postings’, roll posting allowance, science teacher allowance.

“Of course, we have Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria, TRCN, under us that has professionalized the profession. Those are the highlights which you already know.

“But this is the biggest stage now. We are getting legal backing for all these things. The essence of the bill is to seek approval so that there is legal backing for the new retirement age of 65 years for teachers and the service period extended to 40 years for teachers. This is the main issue, while all other issues are ancillary to it.”

Also briefing, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo said:  “We brought a memo for the award of contract for the upgrade of the electricity component of the Calabar Free Trade Zone Area.

“The contract was initially awarded in 2018 to upgrade the electrical facility in the free trade zone area and it was not completed. So, we brought a memo and Council approved the sum of N1 billion for the completion of the Calabar Free Trade Zone area.”

On his part, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, said the memo he presented to the council which was approved, was a treaty on plant genetic resource for food and agriculture.

He said:  “ The import of this treaty is for the advancement and enhancement of agricultural resource base of  member countries. Nigeria has signed the treaty for a long time but it is only today (yesterday) FEC approved the ratification.

“We will now become full member of this treaty and it will enhance training and research of our agricultural scientists, agricultural fractionists and so on and so forth.

“In short, the entire treaty is meant to boost agricultural production in the country as it affects other countries, 167 of them.  Name of the Treaty: Plant Genetic Resource for Food and Agriculture.”