Teachers’ Retirement Age Act: Tenure and Teacher Quality in Nigeria

Education is crucial to national development and teachers are the principal component in educational production. Teacher quality manifests in student achievements and educational outcomes Improving the quality of education rests on attracting and retaining good teachers who can help students navigate their ways in a changing world and produce graduates that can drive development and technological revolutions. Selection into the teaching profession is facing severe threats, and there is a growing teacher shortage. A complex interaction of demand and supply factors causes teacher shortages. In addressing the shortage of teachers, the government introduced a demand side intervention by enacting and activating The Harmonised Retirement Age for Teachers in Nigeria Act. The law extends the tenure and retirement age of teachers in the face of crippling teacher shortage in schools. This study assessed this development in relation to tenure and teacher quality in Nigeria. The working conditions of teachers are poor and demotivating. Data reveals that many of the current teachers have poor attributes. The study concludes that keeping incapable and poorly trained teachers longer in teaching service will not benefit educational development and student outcomes. The government intervention only masks deeper issues affecting selection into the teaching profession, which should be addressed.