The Federal Government has unveiled plans to professionalise 250,000 serving teachers without teaching qualifications through the Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP), with the programme scheduled for launch in October 2026.
The National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, has been mandated to coordinate the initiative under the supervision of the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa.
The ATPP is designed to address a longstanding challenge in Nigeria’s basic education system, where a significant number of teachers have been teaching without professional qualifications and are not licensed by the Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN).
Rather than removing the affected teachers from classrooms, the programme seeks to provide them with a structured pathway to acquire professional qualifications and strengthen the quality of teaching in Nigerian schools.
Under the initiative, serving teachers will access two professional routes. Teachers who hold degrees in non-education disciplines will be enrolled through the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE), while those entering from the National Diploma cadre will undertake the Professional Diploma in Education (PDE).
Both programmes will be delivered through a blended learning model combining self-paced digital content, virtual facilitated sessions, structured assessments and supervised teaching practice.
The teaching practice will be conducted in the teachers’ own schools rather than in simulated off-site centres, with the aim of ensuring that the training translates into improved classroom practice.
NTI will serve as the coordinating secretariat and work 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.
The institute will coordinate curriculum, content management and quality assurance in collaboration with UBEC and the programme’s Steering Committee.
According to the programme framework, the ATPP will run for six months, comprising four months of intensive instruction followed by a two-month teaching practice component.
The teaching practice is expected to play a central role in determining the effectiveness of the programme, with participants required to undertake structured practicum under a defined mentor and supervisor arrangement.
Candidates will also be expected to provide documented evidence of lessons taught, pupils’ work and learning materials, as well as supervisor sign-offs, which will form part of their programme records.
Preparations for the programme have substantially progressed, with the curriculum frameworks for the PGDE and PDE routes reviewed, validated and finalised.
Module development has also been undertaken by a national panel of about 40 content experts drawn from universities, colleges of education and relevant mandate agencies, including NTI, TRCN, NSSEC, UBEC and NERDC.
The programme architecture has also been mapped across the federal, state and local government levels, while work is continuing on the digital curriculum delivery process, teaching practice component and engagement with partner institutions.
The Federal Government said the initiative is intended to provide a credible, affordable and time-bound route for serving teachers without professional teaching qualifications to obtain TRCN-recognised qualifications.
The ATPP is part of the administration’s Renewed Hope Agenda for strengthening the teaching profession and improving the quality of basic and secondary education.
Meanwhile, the media and communication strategy for the programme was deliberated by the Sub-Committee on Media and Communication, chaired by the Executive Secretary of the National Senior Secondary Education Commission, Dr. Iyela Ajayi.
NTI was represented at the meeting by its Head of Public Relations and Protocol, Malam Yusha’u Ahmed.
The programme is expected to formally commence with its launch in October 2026.
