The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has reiterated their demands on the retirement age of primary and secondary school teachers in the country and have urged the federal government to raise it from 60 to 65 years.
The union said every education system needs an appropriate quality and quantity of teachers to function properly and the system is plagued by shortage of experienced teachers due to high retirement rate without without corresponding recruitment of teachers to fill the resultant vacancies.
The national president of the union, Comrade Michael Olukoya, who made the call yesterday at the union’s headquarters after observing the union’s founders’ day, stated that “the primary and secondary education sub-sectors in Nigeria requires adequate number of well-trained and experienced teachers to impact knowledge and skills to learners at the foundation level.”
“It is for this and other similar reasons that the retirement age of lecturers and professors in the tertiary institutions was extended from 65-70 years respectively, while that of judges was also increased to 70 years. We therefore wish to restate our demand that the retirement age for primary and secondary school teachers in the country be raised from 60 to 65 years.”
On the security challenge that has plagued the country, the union also urged the federal government to do more in securing institutions of learning to ensure safe and conducive environment for effective teaching and learning to take place as teachers and students have been sorely affected by the development.
“Media reports reveal continuous attacks almost on daily basis which is indicative of the grim reality that the callous attacks of blood-letting is still daunting. We feel pained and demoralised to note the barbaric acts of terror have scuttled and destroyed talents, potentials and lives of our Chibok girls and thousands of other children in the Northeast of Nigeria. ?It remains an unforgettable experience that over 19,000 teachers were displaced while no fewer that 272 teachers lost their lives.”
Also, Olukoya called on both state and local governments to effect payment of the backlog of salaries and other entitlements owed teachers without further delay as they remain the critical agents of change and transformation.
