UK teachers’ recruitment: NUT hails members’ quality

Nigeria has been listed among African countries whose citizens can now apply for qualified teacher status through the Teaching Regulation Agency in the United Kingdom, from February 2023.

Other foreign countries to which the offer extends include Ghana, Hong Kong, India, Jamaica, Singapore, South Africa, Ukraine and Zimbabwe.

The Nigeria Union of Teachers has, however, described the invitation as a sign that Nigerian teachers are of high quality.

A publication in early December on the UK government’s website, by its Department for Education, announced the application for interested non-UK nationals.

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The PUNCH reports that the applicants do not require initial teaching qualifications as the country offers a training programme for potential migrants.

The notice read, “From February 1, 2023, teachers who qualified in the following nine countries (listed above) will also be able to apply to the QTR through the TRA.

“This change is part of the launch of a new service.

“Teachers from all eligible countries will have to show they meet a consistent set of criteria for the award of the QTS. Over time, this route will be opened to qualified teachers from every country outside the UK.

“To apply for assessment – only QTS, you do not need a formal teacher training qualification.

“However, you must have: a minimum of two years teaching experience, a first (bachelor’s) degree from a UK or non-UK university, an English language qualification which is the same standard as a grade four General Certificate of Secondary Education, a maths qualification which is the same standard as a grade four GCSE to teach children aged three to 11 in primary school, a physics, chemistry or biology (science) qualification which is the same standard as a grade four GCSE.”

The Secretary-General of NUT, Dr Mike Ike-Ene, told The PUNCH that the development may lead to brain drain.

 He said, “If a country like the UK is inviting our teachers, it means our teachers are of high quality. For you to be a teacher anywhere in the world is what we are experiencing as a teacher here in Nigeria.

“But unemployment is high, many state governments didn’t employ teachers for a decade now and teachers are retiring. Likewise, education departments in various institutions are producing education graduates.

“A time will come when we will begin to suffer brain drain because our governments have refused to employ them. Making them go abroad is a greener pasture, but it might not be good for us. If we allow our teachers to go out, the same thing they are experiencing in the health sector will happen to us in the teaching profession. So, it has both advantages and disadvantages.”