General Teaching Council for England's excessive fee increase rejected

10 March 2010

Commenting on the announcement that the General Teaching Council for England (GTCE) request for a £6 (18%) increase in the registration fee has been rejected by the secretary of state for Children, Schools and Families and permission has been granted for an inflation-only increase in the fee, Chris Keates, general secretary of the NASUWT, the largest teachers' union, said:

"I welcome the fact that the secretary of state appears to have heeded the NASUWT's strong representations that the 18% increase in registration fee was excessive in the current economic climate and has only approved an increase in line with inflation.

"In the current economic climate, schools, local authorities and all other organisations are having to review their expenditure.

"For the GTCE to expect an 18% increase in its fee was, therefore, reckless and ill-conceived.

"The fact that its claim for a £6 increase has been rejected underlines this point.

"The GTCE must now 'cut its coat according to its cloth' and set a budget that concentrates on its core regulatory function not on expensive pet projects that add little value.

"I find it interesting, however, that the GTCE chief executive has stated in his press release that the fee increase will 'support the programme of work agreed by Council members in January 2010'. This clearly implies that the GTCE did not need the excessive amount they asked for if the rejection of the £6 increase has not triggered revisions to the programme.

"However, whether the fee increase is three pence or £3.50, the NASUWT has no doubt that the vast majority of teachers will continue to resent paying any increase to a body they feel serves no useful purpose."

---

Press releases, papers and documents published on this page are the intellectual property of an organisation unrelated to ePolitix.com. We promote their parliamentary and political campaigning activities as they are subscribers to the ePolitix.com service.

As such, ePolitix.com does not edit, endorse, or attempt to balance the opinions expressed on this page. The content of press releases and other such types of content are the responsibility of the originating organisation.