By Benson Daniel
The Federal Government has moved to tackle the challenge of teachers working without professional qualifications through the Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP), a new initiative designed to provide serving educators with recognised teaching qualifications.
The National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, under the leadership of its Director and Chief Executive, Prof. Sadiya Sani Daura, has been mandated to coordinate the programme under the supervision of the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa.
The ATPP is aimed at addressing a long-standing gap in Nigeria’s basic education system, where a significant number of teachers are working in classrooms without formal professional teaching qualifications or registration with the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).
Rather than removing unqualified teachers from classrooms, the initiative is designed to give them a structured opportunity to acquire the necessary professional qualifications while continuing to teach.
The programme will be delivered through two pathways. Teachers who already hold university degrees in disciplines other than education will undertake a Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE), while serving teachers entering from the National Diploma level will follow the Professional Diploma in Education (PDE) route.
Both programmes will run for six months, comprising four months of intensive instruction followed by two months of supervised teaching practice.
The training will adopt a blended approach combining self-paced digital learning, virtual facilitated sessions, structured assessments and practical classroom experience. The teaching practice will take place in the teachers’ own schools and will be subject to supervision and verification rather than being conducted in simulated centres.
The practical component is considered a critical part of the programme, with participants expected to demonstrate their teaching abilities through documented lessons, pupils’ work and other evidence of classroom practice. Mentors and supervisors will also be involved in monitoring and signing off the required activities.
NTI will serve as the coordinating secretariat and will work with several education agencies and institutions, including the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), TRCN, the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), the National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC) and the National Universities Commission (NUC).
The programme is being implemented through existing institutions and their established mandates rather than through the creation of a separate project structure.
Preparations for the programme have already progressed considerably. Curriculum frameworks for both the PGDE and PDE routes have been reviewed, validated and finalised, while module development has involved about 40 experts drawn from universities, colleges of education and relevant education agencies.
The programme’s structure has also been mapped across federal, state and local government levels, with remaining preparations focused on digital curriculum delivery, teaching practice arrangements and coordination with partner institutions.
Officials say the blended model has been deliberately designed to ensure that teachers do not complete the programme through digital learning alone. Each module will combine different learning and assessment components to maintain professional and practical standards.
The Federal Government expects the ATPP to provide a credible, affordable and time-bound route for serving teachers without professional teaching qualifications to obtain qualifications recognised by the TRCN.
The initiative is expected to involve about 250,000 Nigerian teachers and is scheduled for launch in October 2026.
The programme is part of the government’s broader effort to strengthen the quality of teaching and improve standards across Nigeria’s education system by ensuring that teachers already working in classrooms have access to professional training and recognised qualifications.
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