UK Drops Nigeria Ghana India From Direct QTS Route

The United Kingdom's Department for Education has removed Nigeria, Ghana and India from the direct application route for Qualified Teacher Status in England, a change that took effect on September 9, 2026 under updated guidance. QTS is the professional teaching qualification for teachers in England and is recognised by many schools in the country, though it is not legally required in every type of school. Under the revised eligibility rules, countries covered by the Apply for QTS in England service must have a national regulator capable of confirming a teacher's professional standing and must be able to provide references meeting the department's requirements. The department said India was excluded because it does not have a national regulator able to confirm professional standing to the required standard. For Nigeria and Ghana, the DfE cited problems with reference verification, stating that more than 70 percent of applications from teachers in both countries include work history references using public email addresses such as Gmail or Hotmail rather than a school's official email domain.