Nick Gibb, the long-standing former schools minister, has said pay will have to increase to address acute teacher shortages.
Gibb, who served as schools minister for all but three of the last 13 years before standing down last month, called for teachers to be “properly rewarded”.
“I do think we have to pay teachers properly. I really do, we need a properly well-rewarded teaching profession. I am pleased we were able to give a 6 per cent pay rise this year on top of 5.4 per cent last year because if you struggle to recruit there’s only one real answer,” he said in an interview first published by the i newspaper.
Asked directly if teachers should receive more, he pointed out that less than a fifth of the number of physics teachers needed were recruited last year.
