The Senate Wednesday passed a bill pegging the retirement age for university professors at 70 years instead of the fixed 65 years for public officers in the country.

Following this, the Senate President, David Mark, called on members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to call off their on-going strike in the interest of Nigerian students, as one of the demands of the striking lecturers was the need to raise the retirement age of university professors from 65 to 70 years.

In his remark after the passage of the bill, Mark said: “We have passed the bill into law to meet the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). There is the need to get ASUU back to the classrooms so that our children can go back to their classes.”

The bill, however, fixed the retirement age for other academics below the rank of professors in higher institutions at 65 years along with the non-academic staff of tertiary institutions.

Also, the Senate approved the payment of pension to a retiring professor at a rate equivalent to his or her last monthly salary while the registrar, librarian and bursar of any tertiary institution shall hold office for a period of five years, and an extension of one year if necessary.

The Senate, however, refused to pass the section of the bill that guarantees the payment of salaries to university professors after retirement despite arguments by some senators that retiring professors should enjoy pensions like retired military officers.


Source<>http://www.thisdaylive.com/articles/senate-pegs-professors-retirement-age-at-70/107458/