Boris Johnson said Wednesday that teachers in the first five years of his career will receive up to £ 3,000 ($ 4,069) tax-exempt salary increases to teach math, physics, chemistry and computing. Said.
It is to help recruit and retain professional teachers in the schools and communities that are most in need of teachers and the missing subjects.
In his speech at the Conservative Party Convention, the Prime Minister announced a £ 60 million ($ 81.4 million) package, stating that the policy “sends the best math and science teachers to where they need them most.”
He emphasized the Brampton Manor Academy, a state school in Newham, eastern London, as evidence of “unleashing and leveling up”.
This year, 55 teenagers in Brampton Manor got the grades they needed to study at Oxbridge, more than what was offered to Eton College students.
The majority of students in public schools in the city center are from ethnic minorities who receive free school meals or will be the first family members to attend college.
Downing Street said £ 60m will come from new funding and will be spent for over three years.
“Level Up Premium” is the only new policy Johnson announced during his speech, promising to lead Britain to “high wages, high skills, high productivity, and … a low tax economy.”
The teachers union welcomed the policy, but said the old plan seemed to have been repackaged.
“Sounds suspicious like a repackaged initiative announced two years ago to offer an additional £ 2,000 to early career math and physics teachers. [$2717] A year to stay in the profession rises to £ 3,000 a year for those who teach in some disadvantaged areas, “said Jeff Burton, secretary-general of the School and University Leaders Association.
“The idea of these retention bonuses may have some benefits, but the concerns are a bit fragmented on how this actually works, the scale of what is expected, and a much wider range of issues. The fact that it looks like an approach is generally beyond recruitment and retention. “
Kate Green, Labor’s shadow education secretary, also called the package “a less generous recycle of old policies that the Boris Johnson government abolished just a year ago.”
Kevin Courtney, co-secretary of the National Education Union, said the salary increase was “welcome” but “ignored the fact that there was a shortage of teachers throughout the curriculum.”
When asked if the newly announced policy was a revival of the old policy, Secretary of Education Nadhim Zahawi said, “I am a practitioner in these regards.”
PA contributed to this report.
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Lily Zhou is a freelance writer who mainly covers the British news of The Epoch Times.