UK Removes Nigeria, Ghana From List Of Countries Eligible For Teacher Status

Teachers trained in Nigeria and Ghana are no longer eligible to apply for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England under the United Kingdom’s overseas-trained teacher application route.

Naija News understands that the change took effect on September 9, 2026.

According to a statement by the Department for Education (DfE), Nigeria and Ghana failed to meet one of its requirements.

To apply for QTS, teachers ideally must have a valid, unexpired passport; an undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree; recognition as a professional teacher in the country where they completed teacher training; and completion of all mandatory induction processes to gain full teacher registration in the country where they qualified.

According to the UK Department for Education, teaching qualifications and experience are assessed against strict requirements to ensure QTS is awarded only to the highest-quality teachers.

To remain eligible, a country must have a national regulator that can confirm a teacher’s professional standing and provide authenticated references.

The UK education department said Nigeria and Ghana failed to meet the second 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.

“This means assessors spend additional time and resources trying to verify information provided in applications,” the department said.

India was also removed from the list for not having a national regulator that can confirm professional standing.

South Africa is now the only African country on the list of eligible countries.

“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.