The UK Department for Education (DfE) has barred teachers trained in Nigeria and Ghana from applying for the Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England through the United Kingdom’s overseas-trained teacher application route.
The DfE said the change took effect on September 9, 2026, following a review of the countries whose teachers remain eligible under the scheme.
Under the QTS route, applicants are generally required to hold a valid and unexpired passport, an undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree and professional recognition as a teacher in the country where they completed their training.
Applicants must also have completed all mandatory induction requirements needed to obtain full teacher registration in their country of qualification.
The DfE said applicants’ teaching qualifications and professional experience are assessed against strict requirements before QTS is awarded.
According to the department, an eligible country must have a national regulator capable of confirming a teacher’s professional standing and providing authenticated references.
It said Nigeria and Ghana were removed from the eligibility list after failing to meet the 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.
“This means assessors spend additional time and resources trying to verify information provided in applications.”
The UK education department said about 90 per cent of applications are assessed within 12 months.
India was also removed from the list after the DfE determined that it did not have a national regulator capable of confirming applicants’ professional standing.
With the latest changes, South Africa is now the only African country remaining on the list of countries whose teachers can apply through the overseas-trained teacher route.
Explaining the requirement for reliable verification, the department said: “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.”
