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Academic professionals exempted from post-retirement contract ban - Education Minister
Academic professionals exempted from post-retirement contract ban - Education Minister
By: Nii Ammui Fio | 2 mins read
Lecturers and other academic professionals who have passed the compulsory retirement age of 60 will not be affected by the recent ban on post-retirement contracts for public servants by the government.This was announced by the Ministry of Education to provide clarity on who was involved or excluded from a directive given by President John Dramani Mahama.A directive was issued on April 2, and signed by the Secretary to the President, Dr. Callistus Mahama, announcing that “the grant of post-retirement contract appointments to retired public service staff has been suspended with immediate effect.Speaking at a press briefing on Friday, April 11, the Minister of Education, Haruna Iddrisu, assured members of the academic community that President John Mahama’s new directive on public sector reforms does not apply to them.
“This press briefing is just to assure academia, lecturers and students that the academic community and lecturers in universities and other higher institutions of learning are exempt from this directive,” the Minister stated.
The government’s directive, which halts post-retirement contract extensions across the public service, is aimed at creating room for younger professionals and improving efficiency in state institutions.
However, Mr. Iddrisu emphasized that academic professionals will continue to follow existing procedures for contract renewals.
“For their purposes, they will go through their councils, their public service, and appropriate institutions where necessary, for those approvals to be granted,” he said.
He also highlighted the essential role academia plays in national development and the need for continuity in knowledge transfer, adding that faculty members can remain assured that their contributions will continue to be recognized.Meanwhile the co-founder of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development (CDD-Ghana), Prof. Baffour Agyeman-Duah, has commended President John Dramani Mahama for issuing the ban on post-retirement contract extensionsHe said, “the president’s decision to ban or curtail that kind of sanction is a good move. But it should not have been a blanket announcement; it should have been on a case-by-case basis. Perhaps the president is being overwhelmed by the number of requests coming from all angles.
“The question, preview for extension, could be other reasons, but I think perhaps the president is being overwhelmed by that. The right decision is to issue that blank statement.”On the other hand, private legal practitioner, Martin Kpebu, has thrown his weight behind the move by government as he deems it necessary to give Ghana’s unemployed youth a chance.“On the balance, I am in favour of the President’s policy. After all, it’s even the law anyway,” he said during an engagement with the media.
