AQW 5295/22-27

Ms Connie Egan
Alliance Party
North Down

Tabled Date: 26/10/2022
Answered On Date: 04/03/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Education whether teachers still have to pay an annual registration fee to the General Teaching Council for Northern Ireland, despite the Council’s dissolution.

Answer:

GTCNI has yet to be dissolved and continues to exist as a Non Departmental Public Body (NDPB) of DE, currently operating under direct Departmental oversight. Its staff continue to deliver their statutory function of registering new teachers entering the profession and maintaining the registration of the existing teaching workforce. Registration is seen as an important safeguard, helping to protect the quality of the teaching workforce in our schools.

The NDPB continues to be funded through the annual fee paid by all registered teachers and these fees will continue to be collected until legislation to dissolve and replace GTCNI can be brought through the Assembly.