UK Drops Nigeria, Ghana From Direct Route to Qualified Teacher Status
Teachers trained in Nigeria and Ghana can no longer apply directly for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England, after the UK Department for Education removed both countries from its list of eligible nations for the overseas-trained teacher route. The change took effect on September 9, 2026, alongside a similar removal of India from the same qualification pathway.
According to the Department for Education, the decision followed a review of eligibility requirements for the scheme, under which participating countries must have a national regulator capable of confirming a teacher’s professional standing and providing authenticated references. Officials said Nigeria and Ghana failed to meet that specific requirement. The department disclosed that more than 70 percent of applications submitted by teachers trained in the two countries contained work-history references linked to public email services such as Gmail and Hotmail, rather than official school email domains, a pattern that significantly complicated the verification process for assessors.
Data released alongside the announcement offered a glimpse into the scale of applications affected by the change. In the 2024/2025 academic year, Nigeria recorded 1,076 QTS applications, of which 364 were approved and 599 declined. Ghana recorded a similar volume, with 1,067 applications submitted, 196 approved, and 749 rejected. The figures suggest that even before the policy change, a majority of applications from both countries were already being turned down under the previous rules.
With Nigeria and Ghana now removed from the list, South Africa stands as the only African country still eligible for the direct QTS application route in England. The department emphasised that the change does not represent an outright ban on teachers from the two countries pursuing careers in English schools, noting that alternative pathways remain available. These include the assessment-only QTS route, the International Qualified Teacher Status (iQTS) programme, which is delivered online by approved training providers in partnership with schools internationally, and formal teacher training completed within England itself.
Officials were careful to stress that the policy shift is about verification integrity rather than a judgement on the competence of individual teachers. A department spokesperson said the change was intended to help ensure that overseas teachers granted qualified status possess the skills and experience needed to teach effectively in English schools, framing the requirement as a safeguard for both students and the broader credibility of the QTS system.
For teachers still hoping to pursue the standard eligibility route, the general requirements remain largely unchanged: applicants must hold a valid passport, an undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree as assessed by UK ENIC, recognised professional teaching status in their country of training, and completion of required induction requirements. Depending on their country of origin, some applicants may also need to demonstrate qualifications to teach specific age groups or subject specialisms, ranging from mathematics and the sciences to a range of modern and classical languages.
For Nigerian and Ghanaian teachers with ambitions of working in English classrooms, the revised rules mean that understanding these alternative qualification routes, rather than the now-closed direct application service, will be essential in planning their next steps toward securing a teaching career in the UK.
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