The UK government’s Department for Education (DfE) has introduced a new service called ‘Apply for Qualified Teacher Status in England’ targeted at overseas teachers.
The service aims to assess the qualifications and experience of overseas teachers applying to work in the United Kingdom.
The Department for Education stated that under existing EU and national legislation, some foreign teachers can easily obtain QTS, while others with the same skills and experience cannot.
The new legislation will, however, ensure a fair and consistent process and support the influx of well-qualified teachers to the English education system.
The department also outlined the priority subjects for immigrants including Nigerians, who wish to come to the UK to teach via the Teaching Regulation Agency starting February 2023.
For applicants from Nigeria: From February 1, 2023 applicants from Nigeria, Ghana, Singapore, South Africa, Zimbabwe, Jamaica, and India, with subject specializations in languages, mathematics, or science, and a teaching qualification to teach 11 to 16-year-olds, will be able to use the service.
The priority subjects, as noted by the DfE, are those that require a level 6 teaching qualification and a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, science, or language (excluding English) taught in English state schools.
Applicants from other countries: Those from other select countries such as Australia, Canada, EEA, Gibraltar, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Switzerland, Ukraine, and the USA, m with a teaching qualification will be able to use the service to determine eligibility for Qualified Teacher Status and apply.
Take note of the priority subjects: DfE listed the priority subjects as French, German, Italian, Japanese, Latin, Mandarin, Russian and Spanish, excluding the English Language.
It, however, added that there will be an update on other subject specialism by May.
