The National Union of Teachers commended the House of Representatives on the passage of an executive bill seeking to raise the retirement age of teachers in Nigeria.
The lower chamber’s passage of the bill followed the consideration of the report on the bill by the Committee of the Whole.
Shortly after the passage, the Secretary General of the NUT, Dr Mike Ene, says,it is a welcome development and that it is a great progress. The bill has been with them for a while and they are glad that the House of Representatives has passed it.
“It is now left to the Senate and while we are hoping they do the needful and pass it to the President for final approval, we also want to use this opportunity to call on state governments to make sure that they also extend these opportunities to teachers who work with them.
PresidentMuhammaduBuhari, had on June 2, 2021, sent the executive bill to the Senate and the House of Representatives, seeking to increase the retirement age for teachers in the country from 60 to 65 years.
The bill also seeks to extend the years of service for teachers from 35 to 40 years.
Buhari, in the letter addressed to the President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan; and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, explained that the piece of legislation would provide for a harmonised retirement age for teachers in Nigeria. The harmonised retirement age for teachers in Nigeria Bill 2021 seeks to increase the retirement age for teachers from 60 to 65 years, and also increase the possible years of service from 35 to 40 years,” the President had said in the letter
