U.K REMOVES NIGERIAN AND GHANAIAN-TRAINED TEACHERS FROM U.K TEACHING QUALIFICATION

The United Kingdom has removed Nigeria and Ghana from the list of countries whose teacher-trained professionals are eligible to apply for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS), a requirement for teaching in many schools across England.

The change took effect on September 9, according to the UK Department for Education (DfE).

The department said overseas teaching qualifications and experience are assessed against strict requirements to ensure teachers awarded QTS meet its standards.

For countries to remain eligible, they must have a national regulator capable of confirming a teacher’s professional standing and provide authenticated references.

However, the DfE said Nigeria and Ghana failed to meet the reference requirement.

“Our data shows that more than 70% of applications from teachers in Ghana and Nigeria include work history references that use public email addresses, such as Gmail or Hotmail, rather than a school’s official email domain,” the department said.

India was also removed because it does not have a national regulator that can confirm teachers’ professional standing. South Africa is now the only African country remaining on the eligible list.

“We must be confident that the information applicants provide is genuine. This helps ensure that overseas teachers awarded qualified teacher status have the skills and experience needed to teach in schools in England,” the department said.

To apply for QTS, teachers need a valid passport, an undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree, professional recognition as a teacher in their country of training and the required induction for full registration.

Applicants must also show at least nine months of teaching experience after qualifying, with references confirming their work history using a school-domain email address.

The DfE noted that teachers in England are employed by individual schools, so some schools may consider alternative qualification routes, although QTS remains preferred by most schools.