The Constitutional Review Committee (CRC) has proposed removing the compulsory retirement age of 60 from Ghana’s 1992 Constitution, arguing that the current rule forces capable and productive academics out of the university system too early.
Speaking in a TV3 interview with Kemmini Amanor on December 27, the committee’s chairman, Professor H. Kwasi Prempeh, questioned why university lecturers are required to retire several years earlier than judges, even when many of them are still mentally sharp and professionally active. He said the existing policy no longer reflects the real needs of institutions or the abilities of individuals.
“Our judges retire at 65 or even 70, so why should university lecturers, many of whom are still at their best, be made to retire at 60?” Prof Prempeh asked. He added that for some academics, 60 is still too early in their careers.
The committee is therefore recommending that the fixed retirement age be removed from the Constitution altogether, so Parliament can determine and adjust it when necessary to suit changing conditions. According to Prof Prempeh, this would make it easier for universities and other institutions to keep experienced professionals who still have a lot to offer.
“Once it’s taken out of the Constitution, it becomes easier for Parliament to review and adjust it when needed,” he said, noting that laws passed through Parliament are more flexible and practical than rigid constitutional rules.
Prof Prempeh pointed to the widespread practice of universities rehiring retired lecturers on short term contracts as evidence the system fails its stated purpose. He described this arrangement as inefficient and unnecessarily complicated compared to simply extending formal employment.
“Because there are universities, faculties, they retire at 60 and then re-engage them on contract, so everybody knows that it is not working. Let them work to 70,” the law professor stated.
The CRC chairman also rejected arguments that enforcing strict retirement ages effectively addresses youth unemployment, describing such logic as overly simplistic and disconnected from how labor markets actually function.
“You don’t use retirement age that way. There is a problem of employment, the 80 year old who leaves the classroom is not going to be replaced by the guy who is looking for a job. It doesn’t work that way easily,” Prof Prempeh said, urging policymakers to examine employment challenges more comprehensively.
He acknowledged that retirement does affect institutional mobility but insisted it should not be treated as a valve for managing joblessness. “Retirement age has some connections with mobility through the system, but let us not use it as an employment kind of valve,” he warned.
The proposal comes as Ghana’s public university system faces ongoing challenges including low compensation, delayed payments and difficulty recruiting early career researchers. Critics of extending retirement ages have argued that reforms must address fundamental issues such as pay, research funding and career progression rather than simply allowing older faculty to remain longer.
Prof Prempeh, executive director of the Ghana Center for Democratic Development and a professor at Seton Hall University School of Law in the United States, chairs the Constitutional Review Committee established to examine potential amendments to Ghana’s 1992 Constitution.
