Trainee teacher bursaries should be replaced with new “forgivable fees”

According to a report by the Higher Education Policy Institute (HEPI), bursaries for trainee teachers should be scrapped and replaced with a new system of forgivable fees.

The think tank has called on the government to scrap bursaries for trainees and replace then with a promise that their tuition fees would be wiped after 10 years working in teaching, also known as forgivable fees.

HEPI believe this would encourage trainees to stay in the profession.

In addition to this, the report says it would also “release a quarter of a billion pounds per annum” which is currently spent on bursaries to could be spent elsewhere in education.

John Cater, author of the report, commented: “There are worrying signs that the profession is failing to attract enough entrants and failing to retain existing teachers in sufficient numbers and with appropriate specialisms to deliver the revised curriculum to a rapidly increasing school-age population.

“It is the time for all stakeholders to work together to ensure that an emerging issue does not manifest itself into a crisis which affects the life chances of a generation.”

The report also includes a series of proposals aimed at tackling the lack of teachers, EBacc pressures in certain subjects, and potential falling overseas recruitment that may be triggered by Brexit.