The National Industrial Court of Nigeria has voided the Federal Government’s policy requiring education directors to retire after spending eight years in office, ruling that teachers and education officers who become directors are entitled to remain in service until they attain 65 years of age or complete 40 years of pensionable service.
Delivering judgment in Abuja on July 10, 2026, Justice O. Y. Anuwe nullified circulars issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Education seeking to enforce the eight-year tenure rule against teachers and education officers serving as directors.
According to the CTC obtained by our correspondent on Tuesday, the court held that the circulars were inconsistent with the provisions of the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022, and were therefore invalid to the extent that they applied to teachers and education officers.
“A teacher or education officer, whether he or she got to the post of director or not, is entitled to retire from service on attaining 65 years of age or 40 years of service,” Justice Anuwe held.
The judge added that serving as a director for eight years “is not a retirement condition for teachers any longer.”
