South Africa Now Sole African Nation on UK’s Direct QTS Teacher Route After Other Countries Removed
- The UK removed Ghana and Nigeria from its direct Qualified Teacher Status route in September 2026
- South Africa remains the sole African nation whose teachers can still access the direct QTS pathway in England
- The rule change came after over 70% of applications from Ghana and Nigeria raised serious credential verification concerns
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South Africa has emerged as the only African country whose teachers can apply directly for Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) in England, after the UK quietly removed Ghana, Nigeria, and India from the eligibility list.
The UK Department for Education updated its direct "Apply for QTS in England" service criteria, with the changes taking effect on 9 September 2026. Teachers who trained in Ghana, Nigeria, and India can no longer use this streamlined pathway to gain recognition in England.
Why Ghana and Nigeria lost direct access
The decision to remove Ghana and Nigeria centred on a widespread problem with application references. More than 70% of submissions from teachers trained in those two countries included work experience references tied to generic public email addresses, such as Gmail or Hotmail accounts, rather than official school domains. This made it extremely difficult for UK assessors to verify whether the applicants had genuinely worked at the institutions they listed.
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India's removal was handled separately. The country lacks a single national regulatory body capable of confirming an individual teacher's professional standing to the standard the UK requires.
What South African teachers must show
South African-trained educators who want to use the direct QTS route still face a clear set of conditions. Their qualifications must be equivalent to a UK Level 6 bachelor's degree, and they must hold full professional teaching status with the South African Council for Educators (SACE) without any restrictions on their practice.
According to the new guidelines, they also need at least one full academic year of post-qualification teaching experience. Those already working in England must be in an eligible role, such as a state school, independent school, or higher education setting. Teachers applying from outside England must be qualified to teach learners aged 11 to 16 in mathematics, science, or a recognised foreign language.
All applicants must demonstrate English language proficiency through approved testing providers or degree documentation, and work references must come from official institutional email addresses.
Teachers from Ghana, Nigeria, and India who still wish to teach in England are not entirely without options. Alternative routes remain available, including Assessment-Only QTS, the International Qualified Teacher Status programme through UK-approved providers, or completing initial teacher training directly in England.
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More on South Africans studying and teaching abroad
- Briefly News recently reported on a South African teacher in China who ran a social trust experiment on the streets, and Mzansi couldn't help comparing it to home.
- A Cape Town school is mourning the sudden passing of a Grade 8 learner, leaving teachers, classmates and family heartbroken.
- A South African student in China revealed a set of strict university rules, leaving followers wide-eyed.
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Source: Briefly News
