FG to train 250,000 teachers without teaching qualifications

The Federal Government has commenced preparations for the Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway, a six-month programme designed to equip serving teachers without professional teaching qualifications with recognised credentials.

In a statement issued on Friday, the National Teachers’ Institute said it had been mandated to coordinate the initiative, which is expected to engage “250,000 Nigerian teachers, under the supervision of the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa.”

The statement said the “sole aim of the ATPP is to drive the Federal Government’s intention to professionalise non-professional Nigerian teachers and bridge their qualification gaps.”

The initiative is expected to address what the NTI described as a “long-standing structural weakness” in Nigeria’s basic education system, where a significant number of teachers have been teaching without professional qualifications.

The institute said the situation had been a concern to policymakers and other stakeholders because some of the affected teachers were neither licensed by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria nor within the professional standards enforced by the council.

The NTI, under the leadership of its Director and Chief Executive, Prof Sadiya Sani Daura, has been designated as the coordinating secretariat for the programme.

It will work with the Universal Basic Education Commission, TRCN, Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council, National Senior Secondary Education Commission, National Universities Commission and other relevant institutions, alongside the Federal Ministry of Education.

The statement said the programme was designed to “fill an existing gap without phasing out these teachers from the classroom,” adding that it would instead “empower and professionalise them.”

The ATPP will be delivered through two routes—the Postgraduate Diploma in Education for serving teachers who hold degrees in non-education disciplines and the Professional Diploma in Education for serving teachers entering from the National Diploma cadre.

Both routes will combine self-paced digital content, virtual facilitated sessions, structured assessment checkpoints and supervised teaching practice.

Unlike simulated training arrangements, the teaching practice will be verified in the teachers’ own schools.

The NTI said it would deliver the programme through existing mandated institutions rather than establish a parallel project unit.

According to the statement, the academic preparations for the programme have substantially been completed, with the curriculum frameworks for both routes reviewed, validated and finalised.

Module development was undertaken by a national panel of approximately 40 content experts drawn from universities, colleges of education and relevant agencies, including NTI, TRCN, NSSEC, UBEC and NERDC.

The programme architecture has also been mapped across the federal, state and local government levels, while outstanding work includes the digital curriculum delivery flow, teaching practice component and engagement with partner institutions.

Explaining the blended approach, the NTI said it was being adopted “by necessity, combining virtual and physical components; rather than by preference.”

The design will place four components in a repeating cycle across each module to ensure that teachers do not progress solely on the strength of digital technology.

The institute will coordinate curriculum, content management and quality assurance of deliverables in collaboration with UBEC and the Steering Committee.

The ATPP will run for six months, comprising four months of intensive instruction and two months of teaching practice.

Emphasising the importance of the practical component, the statement said, “The teaching practice component is most likely to determine whether the pathway produces a change in the classroom or merely a change in paperwork.”

The practicum will involve structured teaching practice, mentor and supervisor protocols, as well as documented evidence of lessons, pupils’ work and supervisor sign-offs.

The NTI said the programme would provide “a credible, affordable and time-bound route” for serving teachers without teaching qualifications to obtain TRCN-recognised professional qualifications.

The media communication strategy for the programme was deliberated by the Sub-Committee on Media and Communication, headed by the Executive Secretary of the National Senior Secondary Education Commission, Dr Iyela Ajayi. The NTI was represented by its Head of Public Relations and Protocol, Mal. Yusha’u Ahmed.

The Federal Government is expected to launch the ATPP in October 2026 as part of efforts under the Renewed Hope Agenda to strengthen teacher quality and improve learning outcomes across the country.