By VICTOR ADEOTI

The Academic Staff Union of Secondary Schools (ASUSS) says the non-implementation of the harmonised retirement age for teachers by some state governors is demoralising.

Mr Sola Adigun, ASUSS National President, in a statement on Friday in Osogbo, said that about 16 states were yet to implement the new retirement age for teachers in the country.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that late former President Muhammad Buhari announced the new retirement age for teachers on World Teachers’ Day in 2020.

Subsequently, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved the bill in January 2021, which was transmitted to the National Assembly in June 2021.

Section 1 of the Act states that Nigerian teachers shall compulsorily retire on attainment of 65 years of age or 40 years of pensionable service, whichever came first.

Adigun, however, said that the failure of some state governors to implement the new retirement age undermined collaboration among stakeholders for quality secondary education in the country.

He said the 2025 World Teachers’ Day, with the theme “Recasting Teaching as a Collaborative Profession,” underscored the urgent need for unity in tackling challenges in the educational sector.

The national president emphasised the urgent need for stakeholders in the educational sector to combat challenges such as examination malpractice, poor welfare, decaying infrastructure, insecurity, and others in schools.

Adigun also called on states that were yet to establish Senior Secondary Education Boards to do so urgently by recruiting more qualified teachers and ensuring teachers’ welfare were protected.

He commended the inclusion of representatives of the union in the expanded Governing Council of the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) by the Federal Ministry of Education, describing it as commendable.

Adigun also commended the tuition-free Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) programme by the Federal Government, which he described as a model of effective partnership between policy and practice.

The ASUSS boss further commended Ekiti and Bayelsa for pioneering tuition-free technical education.

He, however, called for the release of the union’s certificate, which he said had been withheld for the past 17 years. (NAN)