The Federal Government has unveiled a six-month professionalisation programme aimed at helping 250,000 serving teachers without recognised teaching qualifications obtain professional credentials while remaining in employment.
The initiative, known as the Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP), is scheduled to commence in October 2026 and is designed to address long-standing qualification gaps in Nigeria’s teaching workforce without disrupting classroom activities.
The Federal Ministry of Education, under the supervision of the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, has designated the National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, as the coordinating secretariat for the programme.
The initiative is expected to strengthen the quality of basic and secondary education by providing serving teachers who lack professional qualifications with a structured pathway to acquire recognised credentials and meet professional standards.
The presence of teachers without professional qualifications and licences from the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN) has remained a concern for education stakeholders. The ATPP is designed to address the gap without removing affected teachers from classrooms or terminating their employment.
Under the programme, serving teachers with university degrees in disciplines other than education will pursue the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE), while those entering from the National Diploma (ND) cadre will follow the Professional Diploma in Education (PDE) pathway.
Both routes will be delivered through a blended learning model combining self-paced digital instruction, virtual facilitated sessions, structured assessments and supervised teaching practice.
The six-month programme will comprise four months of intensive instruction followed by two months of supervised teaching practice. Unlike conventional arrangements where teaching practice may be conducted at separate centres, the ATPP will assess participants in their actual schools.
Each candidate will be assigned a mentor and supervisor, while evidence of classroom instruction, including lesson delivery, pupils’ work and learning materials, will form part of the candidate’s professional records. Supervisors will also be required to authenticate the practical component through formal sign-offs.
The NTI will coordinate the programme in collaboration with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), TRCN, Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), National Universities Commission (NUC) and other relevant institutions.
Rather than establishing a parallel administrative structure, the programme will utilise the existing mandates and institutional capacities of participating agencies, with NTI responsible for overall coordination, curriculum management and quality assurance.
Preparations for the October commencement are said to be at an advanced stage, with the academic frameworks for the PGDE and PDE pathways reviewed, validated and finalised.
The curriculum and learning modules were developed with contributions from about 40 experts drawn from universities, colleges of education and relevant education agencies, including NTI, TRCN, NSSEC, UBEC and NERDC.
The programme’s implementation structure has also been mapped across the federal, state and local government levels, while preparations continue on the digital learning platform, teaching practice arrangements and engagement with partner institutions.
The organisers said the blended approach was intended to ensure that participants do not qualify solely through online instruction. Each module will combine digital learning, facilitated interaction, assessment and practical application.
The Federal Government is positioning the ATPP as a time-bound and structured route for serving teachers without formal teaching credentials to acquire professional qualifications and enter the professional standards framework regulated by TRCN.
The initiative is being implemented under the education component of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, with the October 2026 launch expected to commence the nationwide effort to address the professional qualification gap among serving teachers.
Meanwhile, the media and communication strategy for the programme was recently considered by the Sub-Committee on Media and Communication, chaired by the Executive Secretary of NSSEC, Dr Iyela Ajayi. NTI was represented at the meeting by its Head of Public Relations and Protocol, Malam Yusha’u Ahmed.
With a target of 250,000 teachers, the ATPP is expected to become one of the Federal Government’s largest interventions aimed at improving the professional capacity and standards of Nigeria’s teaching workforce.
