The National Teachers’ Institute (NTI), Kaduna, has been mandated by the Federal Government to coordinate the Accelerated Teacher Professionalisation Pathway (ATPP), a new initiative aimed at professionalising serving teachers without teaching qualifications and bridging qualification gaps in Nigeria’s education system.
The six month programme, initiated by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, is expected to engage 250,000 Nigerian teachers and will be launched in October 2026.
Under the initiative, NTI, led by its Director and Chief Executive, Prof. Sadiya Sani Daura, will serve as the coordinating secretariat, working with the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC), Teachers Registration Council of Nigeria (TRCN), Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council (NERDC), National Senior Secondary Education Commission (NSSEC), National Universities Commission (NUC) and other relevant institutions under the supervision of the Federal Ministry of Education.
The ATPP is designed to address a longstanding challenge in Nigeria’s basic education sector, where a significant number of serving teachers lack professional teaching qualifications and, in some cases, are not licensed by the TRCN.
Rather than removing such teachers from the classroom, the programme will provide a structured pathway for them to acquire professional qualifications while continuing to teach.
The training will be delivered through two routes: the Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) for serving teachers who hold degrees in non education disciplines, and the Professional Diploma in Education (PDE) for serving teachers entering from the National Diploma cadre.
Both routes will adopt a blended learning model combining self paced digital content, virtual facilitated sessions, structured assessments and supervised teaching practice.
A key feature of the programme is that teaching practice will take place in the participants’ own schools rather than simulated off site centres. The practicum will be supported by mentor and supervisor protocols, with evidence including lesson records, pupils’ work and artefacts, and documented supervisor sign offs maintained as part of each candidate’s records.
The programme is structured around four months of intensive instruction followed by two months of teaching practice.
According to the programme design, the teaching practice component is intended to ensure that professionalisation translates into improved classroom practice rather than merely the acquisition of credentials.
Preparatory work for the programme has substantially progressed, with the curriculum frameworks for both PGDE and PDE 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 equally been mapped across the federal, state and local government levels, while remaining preparations include finalising the digital curriculum delivery process, teaching practice arrangements and engagement with partner institutions.
As coordinating secretariat, NTI will oversee curriculum coordination, content management and quality assurance in collaboration with UBEC and the ATPP Steering Committee.
The Federal Government says the blended approach is designed to ensure that teachers do not progress through the programme solely on the strength of digital learning, with physical and practical components integrated into the training cycle.
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 the NSSEC, Dr. Iyela Ajayi. NTI was represented at the meeting by its Head of Public Relations and Protocol, Mal. Yusha’u Ahmed.
The ATPP forms part of the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda for strengthening teacher quality and addressing professional qualification gaps in the nation’s education system.
