Teachers will pay pound;23 a year to be registered with England’s new General Teaching Council which this week accepted a union call for fees to be reduced from pound;25.
The council was forced to go to the Government for its second hand-out in three months to make the reduction possible after a challenge from the National Union of Teachers.
Ministers have given the GTC an extra pound;500,000 which has taken their contribution to the council in its first four years to pound;19.5m. They will also give the GTC a pound;1.m loan because the NUT’s challenge has delayed the collection of the fee by three months.
Teachers are to pay the fees from January. This week’s emergency meeting was forced on the council after the NUT argued that legislation only allowed it to deduct fees to pay for maintaining its teachers register.
Meanwhile, GTC chairman Lord Puttnam hinted that he would be seeking re-election in the summer when his 18-month term of office comes to an end.
10 TES april 27 2001 www.tes.co.uk
