Teachers trained in Nigeria and Ghana have been removed from the United Kingdom’s list of countries whose nationals can apply for Qualified Teacher Status, QTS, in England through the overseas-trained teacher route.
The new rule took effect on September 9, effectively closing the application pathway to teachers qualified in the two countries.
The UK Department for Education said eligibility for the route was subject to countries meeting specified standards for the verification of teachers’ qualifications, professional status and employment history.
It identified reference verification as the reason Nigeria and Ghana were removed from the list.
The department said its records showed that more than 70 per cent of applications from teachers trained in both countries included employment references sent from public email accounts, such as Gmail and Hotmail, rather than official school email addresses.
“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.
It explained that the use of such addresses created additional work for assessors attempting to authenticate information submitted by applicants.
The department said approximately 90 per cent of applications under the scheme were assessed within 12 months.
India was also removed from the eligible countries following a separate concern. The UK department said the country lacked a national regulator with the capacity to confirm teachers’ professional standing.
Following the changes, South Africa remains the only African country on the list of eligible countries for the overseas-trained teacher QTS route.
QTS is a recognised professional status for teachers in England and is commonly required or sought by schools when employing qualified teachers.
The UK Department for Education said its verification requirements were designed to protect the integrity of the process and ensure that teachers awarded the status had the appropriate qualifications, skills and experience.
Under the application requirements, overseas-trained teachers must possess a valid passport and an undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree.
They must also have formal recognition as a teacher in the country where they trained and have completed any compulsory induction requirements applicable to full teacher registration there.
Applicants must show that they are qualified to teach children between the ages of five and 16 and have accumulated at least nine months of teaching experience after qualifying.
They are also required to submit employment references confirming their teaching history, with the references expected to come through official school email domains.
Other requirements vary according to the country in which an applicant was trained. Some teachers may need qualifications covering pupils aged 11 to 16 and a subject specialisation in areas including mathematics, science, biology, chemistry, physics and selected foreign and classical languages.
Despite the removal of Nigeria, Ghana and India from the route, the UK department said affected teachers were not completely barred from working in English schools.
It noted that schools in England employ teachers directly and can consider other routes for recruiting overseas-trained teachers.
Teachers who no longer qualify for the QTS application service have therefore been advised to investigate alternative pathways into the English teaching profession.
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