Nigerian and Ghanaian-trained teachers can no longer apply for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England through the UK’s overseas-trained teacher route, following a policy change that took effect on September 9.
The UK Department for Education said the two West African countries were dropped from the scheme because they lack a national regulator able to confirm teachers’ professional status and provide authenticated references — one of the core requirements for inclusion on the eligible-countries list.
The department disclosed that more than 70 percent of applications from Ghanaian and Nigerian teachers contained work-history references from personal email addresses, such as Gmail or Hotmail, instead of official school domains, a gap it said forces assessors to spend extra time verifying claims. It said roughly 90 percent of applications are typically assessed within 12 months.
India was also removed from the list for the same reason — the absence of a national regulator capable of verifying teachers’ credentials. South Africa is now the only African country still eligible to use the QTS route.
Officials said the verification requirement exists to ensure that applicants’ information is genuine and that those awarded QTS meet the standards needed to teach in England.
To qualify under the scheme, overseas-trained teachers must hold a valid passport, a degree equivalent to a UK bachelor’s, and recognised professional status as a teacher in their home country. They must also show they have completed any required induction, are qualified to teach children aged five to 16, and have at least nine months of post-qualification teaching experience. Employment references must come from an email address tied to the school’s official domain.
Depending on the training country, some applicants may also need to show additional qualifications to teach ages 11–16, particularly in subjects like mathematics, sciences, or select foreign languages including French, German, Mandarin and Spanish.
Because schools in England — not the Department for Education — directly employ teachers, the department noted that schools may still consider alternative pathways for hiring teachers no longer eligible for the QTS route.
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