The retirement age for university professors in Nigeria is largely dependent on the bit of experience and the length deemed acceptable according to the standards set by various universities in the country. We daily see university scholars, especially the professors, retiring at different age ranges and then we come to wonder and of course come in doubt about whether there is a stipulated age of retirement for them.
A professor is an accomplished and recognized academic. In most Commonwealth nations, as well as northern Europe, the title professor is the highest academic rank at a university. In the United States and Canada, the title of professor applies to most post-doctoral academics, so a larger percentage are thus designated.
In these areas, professors are scholars with doctorate degrees (typically PhD degrees) or equivalent qualifications who teach in colleges and universities.
An emeritus professor is a title given to selected retired professors with whom the university wishes to continue to be associated due to their stature and ongoing research. Emeritus professors do not receive a salary, but they are often given office or lab space, and use of libraries, labs, and so on.
Beyond holding the proper academic title, universities in many countries also give notable artists, athletes and foreign dignitaries the title s, even if these persons do not have the academic qualifications typically necessary for professorship and they do not take up professorial duties.
Roles and Responsibilities of Professors
Below are the roles and responsibilities of professors across universities in the world:
- Managing teaching, research, and publications in their departments (in countries where a professor is head of a department);
- Presenting lectures and seminars in their specialties (i.e., they “profess”);
- Performing, leading and publishing advanced original research in peer reviewed journals in their fields;
Read Also: Difference Between Associate Professor and PhD
- Providing community service, including consulting functions (such as advising government and nonprofit organizations) or providing expert commentary on TV or radio news or public affairs programs;
- Mentoring graduate students in their academic training;
- Mentoring more junior academic staff;
- Conducting administrative or managerial functions, usually at a high level (e.g. deans, heads of departments, research centers, etc.); and
- Assessing students in their fields of expertise (e.g., through grading examinations or viva voce defenses).
Legal Age of Retirement
Having worked for several years meritoriously in the school, delivering lectures and conducting series of research works, professors are expected to rest and then some celebrate their retirement age. Check below the retirement age for university professors in Nigeria:
There is a distinction between Compulsory retiring age which is here legislated by virtue of section 8 and Voluntary retiring age which is still 60 years (and this is not contentious) for all categories of academic staff.
The first is mandatory while the other is optional. In other words, an academic staff may elect to retire from the age of 60 years while he must retire upon attaining the age of 65 years. The 65 years retiring age under section 8 applies to all categories of academic staff of Universities only.
But recently, the sections 4(a) and (b) of the UMPAA 2012 stipulate that the compulsory retiring age for academic staff in the professorial cadre shall be 70 years while that of non-academic staff shall be 65 years.
