The National Council for Tertiary Education (NCTE) has asked all public universities to remove from the public payroll, all lecturers and academic staff above 65 years.
The directive is being motivated by concerns raised by Auditor-General Daniel Yao Demelevo in relation to post-retirement contracts, which, he said, puts a strain on the coffers of the state.
A letter to that effect signed by the Executive Secretary of the NCTE, Professor Mohammed Salifu, ordered the universities to keep only post-retirement academic staff who are on contract and aged between 60 and 65 years on the GoG payroll, effective 31 October 2018.
The same letter titled: Post-Retirement Contracts in Public Universities, said any universities needing to retain staff who are over 65 years must re-assign such person as "consultants" and pay them from their Internally-Generated Funds.
The NCTE said Article 199 (4) of the 1992 Constitution states that retired public officers must not be engaged for a period exceeding five years after retirement.
"Consequently, you are by this letter being requested to ensure that effective 31st October 2018;
1. Only post-retirement contract staff in the age group 60-65 years should remain on Government of Ghana (GoG) payroll as prescribed by the 1992 constitution.
2. All academic staff above the age of 65 are taken off the GoG payroll and reassigned as "consultants" if their services are still required. Such staff may be paid from Internally Generated Funds of the institution.
3. All non-academic staff on post-retirement contracts are deleted from the GoG payroll. In the meantime, the NCTE and Ministry of Education shall continue to hold discussions with the PSC and the Ministry of Finance on how post-retirement contract staff above age 65 should be treated. Please treat this as urgent and ensure compliance".