The United Kingdom Government has attributed its decision to remove Nigeria- and Ghana-trained teachers from the direct Qualified Teacher Status application route partly to the widespread use of Gmail and Hotmail addresses for employment references.
The UK Department for Education said more than 70 per cent of applications from teachers trained in Nigeria and Ghana contained work-history references submitted through public email services rather than official school domains.
According to the department, the practice made it more difficult and time-consuming for assessors to authenticate information provided by applicants.
“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 disclosure sheds more light on the UK’s decision to end the direct QTS application route for teachers trained in Nigeria and Ghana, a change that took effect on September 9.
QTS is the professional status required to teach in many schools in England.
Nigeria and Ghana were added to the UK’s list of countries whose teachers could apply directly for QTS in 2023. However, the Department for Education said continued eligibility was subject to countries meeting requirements that enable UK authorities to verify applicants’ qualifications, professional standing and teaching experience.
One of the requirements is that a country has a national regulator capable of confirming a teacher’s professional status and providing authenticated references.
The department said its assessment process is designed to ensure that overseas teachers awarded QTS possess the qualifications and experience required to teach in England.
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“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.
India was also removed from the direct QTS application list, although for a different reason. The UK government said India lacked a national regulator capable of confirming applicants’ professional standing.
Following the removal of Nigeria and Ghana, South Africa is currently the only African country remaining on the UK’s list for the direct QTS route.
The UK government said about 90 per cent of applications are assessed within 12 months.
Teachers who do not qualify for the direct “Apply for QTS in England” service can explore alternative routes to obtain the status, according to the department.
For those applying through the direct route, requirements include a valid passport, an undergraduate degree equivalent to a UK bachelor’s degree, and recognition as a professional teacher in the country where the applicant completed their teacher training.
Applicants must also have completed any mandatory induction requirements necessary for full teacher registration in the country where they qualified.
They are required to demonstrate that they can teach children aged five to 16 and have at least one school year, or nine months, of teaching experience.
The experience must have been acquired after the applicant became qualified to teach.
Applicants must also provide employment references capable of verifying their work history. Under the UK requirements, those references must be submitted using an email address associated with the school’s official domain.
