The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) has announced that it will increase its annual registration fee from £65 to £75 from April 2025.
This is to be followed by further increases to £83 in 2026 and £88 in 2027.
The GTCS issued a statement late this afternoon after it had previously said in its annual report that the first increase since 2017 was being planned.
The annual registration fee has been held at £65 since April 2017, after a 30 per cent rise that led to an angry reaction at the time.
Longest time without rise
The GTCS says this represents the longest amount of time without a rise, with increases avoided previously thanks to “the level of reserves that had built up and changes to working practices which have resulted in efficiency savings”.
However, the GTCS says it is “no longer sustainable for it to continue operating like this”.
Its statement adds: “The longer the organisation leaves implementing a fee increase, the higher the increase will ultimately need to be.”
Pauline Stephen, GTCS chief executive and registrar, said: “We have a duty to teachers and college lecturers to ensure our money is managed well. We keep fees under regular review and always aim to keep costs down and offset them elsewhere if possible.”
Dr Stephen added: “We aim to find the right balance between the frequency of fee adjustments to ensure our financial sustainability while providing reasonable predictability for registrants.
“This fee increase means that our income for each year will cover the current estimated cost of delivering our core functions.”
GTCS convener Omar Kettlewell said: “As a registered teacher, I am proud to be part of a regulated profession. The purpose of professional regulation includes maintaining society’s trust in the profession, safeguarding the interests of the public, and providing a framework for teachers to meet and exceed high professional standards.”
Mr Kettlewell said that, as the independent regulator for over 80,000 teachers, the GTCS’s registration fee “covers the costs of what we do to set, maintain and uphold teaching standards in Scotland”.
The GTCS is seeking views on the fee increases, which can be shared on its website.
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