FULL LIST: UK EXCLUDES NIGERIA, GHANA FROM TEACHER QUALIFICATION ROUTE
Read Time:2 Minute, 44 Second
By:Aminat Tajudeen
The United Kingdom Department for Education has removed Nigeria, Ghana and India from the list of countries whose trained teachers can use the “Apply for QTS in England” service to obtain Qualified Teacher Status.
The change took effect on September 9, 2026, according to updated guidance issued by the DfE.
QTS is the professional teaching qualification for England and is recognised by many schools across the country.
Under the new rules, teachers trained in Nigeria, Ghana or India are no longer eligible to apply through the service.
The decision followed the release of data on applications from overseas-trained teachers for the 2024/2025 academic year.
According to the data released on August 27, Nigeria recorded 1,076 applications, with 364 resulting in QTS awards, while 599 applications were rejected.
Ghana recorded 1,067 applications, of which 196 resulted in QTS awards and 749 were declined.
The DfE said the eligibility requirements were revised to ensure that countries covered by the service have a national regulator capable of verifying teachers’ professional standing and providing references that meet its requirements.
Regarding India, the department said the country was excluded because it does not have a national regulator that can confirm teachers’ professional standing.
For Nigeria and Ghana, the DfE said more than 70 per cent of applications contained work-history references using public email services such as Gmail or Hotmail instead of official school email addresses.
According to the department, this required assessors to spend additional time and resources verifying information submitted by applicants.
The DfE said it needed to ensure that information provided by applicants was genuine and that teachers awarded QTS possessed the skills and experience required to teach in English schools.
Teachers who are no longer eligible for the QTS application service can explore alternative routes into teaching in England, according to the department.
Applicants seeking QTS are required to have a valid passport, an undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree and professional recognition as a teacher in their country of training.
They must also have completed any mandatory induction requirements for full teacher registration in their country of qualification.
Other requirements include being qualified to teach children aged five to 16 and having at least nine months of teaching experience acquired after qualifying as a teacher.
Applicants are also required to submit employment references confirming their work history using email addresses linked to their schools’ official domains.
Depending on the country of training, additional requirements may apply, including qualifications to teach pupils aged 11 to 16 and specialisation in subjects such as mathematics, science, biology, chemistry, physics, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin, Russian or Spanish.
The DfE noted that since teachers in England are employed by individual schools rather than the department, schools may consider other routes for recruiting and qualifying teachers.
With Nigeria and Ghana removed from the list, South Africa is now the only African country listed among those eligible for the QTS application route, subject to specified conditions.
Other eligible countries and regions include Australia, Canada, the European Economic Area, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Jersey, New Zealand, Switzerland, Ukraine and the United States.
Teachers qualified in Jamaica, Singapore and South Africa may also apply under specified conditions, including additional subject and age requirements where applicable.
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