UK Rule: Nigerian Teachers Demand Upgrade Of School Email Systems

Nigerian teachers have called for an upgrade of institutional email systems across schools in the country following the United Kingdom (UK’s) decision to remove Nigeria and Ghana from the direct Qualified Teacher Status (QTS) fast-track application route.

In an interview with LEADERSHIP yesterday, the teachers said the development could create additional difficulties for Nigerian-trained teachers seeking to work in England, particularly those whose schools lack reliable institutional email systems.

LEADERSHIP earlier reported that the UK Department for Education, on 9th September, 2026, removed Nigeria from the QTS following concerns over the verification of work references submitted by applicants from Nigeria and Ghana.

The UK government said more than 70 per cent of applications from the two countries used personal email addresses, including Gmail and Hotmail, for work references.

Reacting to the development, a Nigerian teacher at Olumawu School in Abuja, Isaac Moji, said the decision represented a major setback for Nigerian- and Ghanaian-trained teachers hoping to work in England, arguing that the official email requirement could now pose a serious hurdle for applicants.
“This is a major setback for Nigerian and Ghanaian-trained teachers hoping to work in England. The official email requirement is now a serious hurdle,” the teacher said.

Also, the headmistress of Divine Academy, Lugbe, Abuja, Mrs Grace Agbo, noted that the use of personal email addresses was not appropriate for formal academic or institutional correspondence. She pointed out that the problem could be linked to weaknesses in some schools’ digital infrastructure.

“You can’t be using Gmail for academic or institutional work. But I also know that some institutional emails in Nigeria and Ghana don’t even work,” she said

However, she said the requirement itself was reasonable, adding that schools should be able to provide verifiable official email addresses for professional references.

“This is definitely not on the government. Email addresses for references should never be from a generic domain like Yahoo, Gmail or Hotmail, which people can easily manipulate.”

According to her, where an applicant had genuinely acquired work experience from a properly registered and reputable school in Nigeria, verification should not ordinarily become a major obstacle.

“If you have work experience from a registered and reputable school in Nigeria, verification shouldn’t be an issue for the UK government.

“Nigerian government should ensure strict standards in our home schools, especially the private schools, to upgrade their online presence for easy correspondence,” she added.