Riding on the crest of the euphoria created by the Presidential package to teachers in Nigeria, the Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) has called for a legislation to back up the announcement and save it from technicalities that may affect its implementation.
President Muhammadu Buhari had at the 2020 World Teachers’ Day in Abuja, through the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, announced 65 years as the new retirement age of teachers in addition to a new salary structure and an increase in their service years from 35 to 40.
Reacting to the development, which created a lot of excitement among the beneficiaries, the Secretary General of the NUT, Dr Mike Ike-Ene, said the pronouncement needs to be backed up with an Act in order to equip it with the force of law.
“You will now discover that from now till another World Teachers’ Day, nothing may happen because of technicalities. They will be saying this one needs law and all manner of excuses”, he said.
Speaking at the celebration marking the World Teachers Day where the package was announced, he said the gesture was to attract the best brains into the teaching profession so as to produce quality students who will, in turn, contribute to national development.
At the event, President of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, Nasir Idris, urged teachers to ensure strict compliance with the COVID-19 protocols in their schools.