A survey by the Department for Education and Skills received an overwhelming response from teachers furious at having to dig into their own pockets for the computers they say are essential to their work.

One said: “All teachers should be issued with computers. They are now absolutely essential for the job.”

Another responded: “Which other profession would demand the use of a piece of equipment and then expect the workforce to fund it themselves?” The survey was conducted to help ministers decide how to roll out the pound;50 million third phase of its Computers for Teachers scheme, which subsidises teachers to buy their own laptops.

The second phase, earlier this year, provoked uproar when it emerged that only key stage 3 maths teachers could apply for the pound;500 grant. Teachers responding to the survey universally condemned that decision as “fundamentally unfair and completely unjustifiable”.

The third phase should benefit about 70,000 teachers. But the consultation failed to produce a clear way forward.

Two-thirds of the 1,500 teachers who responded wanted subsidies on a first-come-first-served basis.

But several representative bodies said schools should buy computers and lend them out.

That would be cheaper for the DFES, which has to cover the pound;220 tax due on each subsidy paid to teachers. The first phase of the scheme almost sank when it emerged teachers would be taxed for benefits in kind.

An announcement is expected when Education Secretary Estelle Morris addresses the BETT technology exhibition in London on January 9.

The TES believes every teacher needs a computer and last year launched the “Laptop for Every Teacher” campaign.