The Governor of Kaduna State, Uba Sani, has enacted an Executive Order that raises the retirement age for academic personnel in state-owned tertiary institutions to 65 years, contingent upon meeting specific eligibility criteria.
The Commissioner for Education, Prof. Muhammad Bello, announced this on Friday during a press conference.
He elaborated that this decision was the result of discussions held between the governor and representatives from academic unions associated with state-owned tertiary institutions.
Bello indicated that the academic representatives had presented five key demands, some of which Governor Sani had committed to addressing gradually.
However, he emphasized that the matter concerning the retirement age required resolution within a 48-hour timeframe.
Bello stated that the governor honoured this commitment by signing Executive Order Number 2 of 2024 on Thursday, which officially increased the retirement age for academic staff at Nuhu Bamalli Polytechnic Zaria, the College of Education Gidan Waya, and the School of Nursing and Midwifery to 65 years.
The commissioner affirmed that the state government is dedicated to ensuring the effective implementation of this policy across all state-owned tertiary institutions, noting that the order took effect immediately upon its signing on Thursday.
Bello also recalled that during the meeting, the governor attentively considered a range of requests that had been awaiting his administration’s attention.
He said, “There were five fundamental requests. The first had to do with outstanding salaries and welfare benefits for the staff of these institutions. His Excellency has graciously agreed to consider those outstanding payments and benefits.
“However, given the financial constraints that the state is facing, affordable amounts will be paid in staggered form until the outstanding liability is redeemed. That was the resolution.
“The next issue had to do with funding the institutions. We all know that since the implementation of the Treasury Single Account system in Kaduna State, tertiary institutions have been affected.
“They complained about the funding required to run the day-to-day activities of the institutions. As a prelude to a complete reversal of the inclusion of tertiary institutions from the TSA, His Excellency has also graciously agreed to commence sharing the total revenue being collected by these institutions.
“There will be a sharing formula within the first quarter of next year that will be mutually agreed upon, which will be fair to all parties.”
The commissioner noted that the third topic addressed during the meeting pertained to the employment duration of academic personnel at certain state-owned higher education institutions, specifically in relation to the retirement age.
According to him, it is a national policy that staff of similar institutions across the country should adopt 65 years as the retirement age, but “unfortunately, Kaduna State had been left behind.”
