Delta Government on Monday approved a new retirement age for teachers in the public service of the state. 

The teachers will henceforth retire at the attainment of 40 years of service or 65 years of age. The  same is applicable to non-academic staff of the state-owned Polytechnics and Colleges of Education. 

The approvals were part of the resolutions reached at the State Executive Council meeting in Asaba. 

Briefing newsmen on the resolutions, Commissioner for Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, said that the executive council gave the approval to enable the teachers and the tertiary institutions workers to contribute more to nation-building. 

According to Aniagwu, with the approval, teachers in the public service of Delta can be in the office up to 65 years of age and 40 years of service. 

“We did this because we have seen that even at 65, many have garnered lots of experience to be able to teach more and have a clearer understanding of their fields of study. 

“And, they can continue to contribute in moulding minds. Forty years of service is not also a bad idea because we have seen most times that they retire without getting tired. 

“Also for the non-teaching staff of our Colleges of Education and Polytechnics, we have given them the advantage of remaining in service as non-teaching staff as much as 40 years. 

“They will also remain in service for as long as 65 years of age. So they now have extra five years added to their retirement age and service year,” he said.