ABUJA, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)-The Oyo State Government has declined the proposal to extend the retirement age for teachers and other civil servants from 60 to 65 years.
In February, the Federal Government approved an extension of the retirement age from 60 to 65 years for clinically skilled health workers, citing the need to strengthen healthcare delivery and enhance the training capacity of professionals.
Subsequently, on May 1, the Nigeria Labour Congress called for the same extension to be applied to all categories of civil servants.
Meanwhile, the Ekiti State Governor, Biodun Oyebanji, on Sunday approved an immediate increase in the retirement age for teachers from 60 to 65 years and extended their years of service from 35 to 40.
Likewise, the Niger State Government, on Monday, announced its approval of the new retirement policy for teachers, effective January 1, 2026.
Speaking at the 2nd Multidisciplinary International Conference of the Postgraduate College at Lead City University, Ibadan, on Wednesday, the Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science, and Technology, Mr. Segun Olayiwola, revealed that the State Executive Council had thoroughly deliberated on the matter but concluded that extending the retirement age would limit employment opportunities for younger graduates.
He said, “It took us about five executive meetings to discuss this matter, and the memo that came to the house was for teachers only. Then other civil servants asked, ‘What about us?’
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“In Niger State, where it has been implemented, what is their population, and how many graduates are they turning out yearly? If we allow it to be raised to 65, those who are due to retire this year will remain for another five years.
“That means the 15,000 teachers we employed into primary and secondary schools in Oyo State would have been deprived of that opportunity because their positions would have been blocked.
That is why it is not an agenda for this government to increase the retirement age to 65,” he said.
However, an educationist and Provost of the Postgraduate College at Lead City University, Prof. Afolakemi Oredein, expressed support for extending the service years, especially for academic mentors.
“When you are mentoring, we need well-experienced people to guide those coming up. Increasing it to 70 years is not a bad idea. It shows that experienced professors can bring up younger ones to become better researchers,” she noted.
She added that the policy could also help address the issue of brain drain by retaining seasoned academics within the system.
Similarly, an educationist and human capital development expert, Professor Godwin Oyedokun, suggested that retirement in academia should be flexible and based on individual capacity and expertise.
“I attended a retirement ceremony at the University of Ibadan for a senior colleague who was older but very agile. I wondered why someone with such knowledge should be retiring now.
“These people often go on to do other things after retirement. Why not retain them a bit longer to utilise their experience? The older you grow, the more experience you have. For those still strong and active, they should be retained, but with reduced workload and periodic health checks to determine their fitness,” he said.