The National Industrial Court has struck down the Federal Government’s policy requiring education directors to retire after serving eight years in office, ruling that teachers and education officers are entitled to remain in service until they attain 65 years of age or complete 40 years of pensionable service, whichever comes first.
Justice Olufunke Anuwe delivered the judgment on Wednesday, declaring that circulars issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation and the Federal Ministry of Education enforcing the eight-year tenure rule are inconsistent with the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022.
The court held that the policy cannot lawfully be applied to teachers and education officers protected under the 2022 Act.
“The eight-year tenure as a director is not a retirement condition for teachers any longer,” Justice Anuwe ruled.
The case was filed by Rakiya Iliyasu, a Grade Level 17 Director in the University Education Department of the Federal Ministry of Education, who challenged directives requiring directors who had spent eight years in office to retire.
Iliyasu argued that, as an education officer, she qualifies as a teacher under the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, which provides that teachers can only retire upon reaching 65 years of age or completing 40 years of pensionable service.
The court agreed with her position, ruling that Section 3 of the Act exempts teachers from any provision of the Public Service Rules that requires retirement before the statutory retirement age or years of service.
Justice Anuwe further noted that the law clearly defines teachers to include education officers, making them eligible for the protections provided under the Act.
The judge also observed that the Office of the Head of the Civil Service had acknowledged in a 2025 correspondence that education officers covered by the Act were exempt from the eight-year retirement policy. The court held that the government’s subsequent directives contradicted that earlier position.
Consequently, the court declared null and void the February 10, 2026 circular issued by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, as well as the February 24 and February 26, 2026 circulars issued by the Federal Ministry of Education, to the extent that they applied to teachers and education officers.
The court also issued a perpetual injunction, restraining the Federal Government and the Federal Ministry of Education from enforcing the eight-year mandatory retirement policy against teachers and education officers in violation of the Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act, 2022.
The disputed policy was introduced in February 2026 when the Office of the Head of the Civil Service and the Ministry of Education directed that directors who had spent eight years in office should retire in accordance with Rule 020909 of the Public Service Rules.
Reaffirming the legal position, Justice Anuwe stated that:
“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.”
The court ordered that each party should bear its own legal costs.
