TEACHERS in East Lancashire have attacked a government plan to set up a national council for classroom staff and charge £20 for membership.

Members of the NASUWT have written to education secretary David Blunkett to tell him how much opposition there is to the council, which would act as a forum on teaching issues.

It would be compulsory for teachers to join the council.

Andew Jones, East Lancashire spokesman for the union, said teachers already had enough to cope with in terms of bureaucracy, pupil ill-discipline and low pay and proposed performance-related pay.

He said: "A teaching council was low on teachers' priorities. But along comes the government telling them to fork out £20 a year for a council they have to join, and they are expected to like it. They don't.

"The NASUWT has told the secretary of state that teachers' opposition is increased when they learn that the chief executive and the first chairman of the council are to be appointed by the government.

"Mr Blunkett is also going to nominate 13 members of the council, on which there will only be a slender teacher majority. It is seen as just another government quango.

"The NASUWT supports setting up the right sort of general teaching council but this is not it. To help smooth matters, I have suggested to Mr Blunkett that all those represented on the council should share its costs.

"Alternatively, teachers could be awarded an extra £20 by the pay review body to cover their fees."

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