The Ministry of Education is drafting a proclamation to increase the retirement age for academic staff.
Under the new rule educators will be able to apply for two, five-year extension terms.
If an institution wishes to implement this rule, they need to justify the action three months before the staff’s date of retirement to the Ministry for approval.
The person applying for a retirement extension should hold a PhD or have reached the level of assistant professor. They also must be in good health and have satisfactory employee evaluations.
This will be help professionals and academicians transform knowledge and technology, the draft proclamation states. It goes on to say that raising the retirement age is necessary to ensure global competitiveness and help schools maintain quality standards, in addition to retaining skilled and ethical staff that can maintain excellence in education.
The mandatory retirement age for academic members of staff differs from one country to the other. In neighboring Kenya, at the University of Nairobi the mandatory retirement age is 70 years. However, the University has been retaining some academic staff in service beyond their retirement age in view of their contribution to the needs and objectives of the University. As of 2018, the nation had more than 40 public higher education institutions across the country.