Michael Gove – 2010 Comments on the Abolition of the General Teaching Council for England

The comments made by Michael Gove, the then Secretary of State for Education, on 2 June 2010.

This government trusts the professionals. That’s why we want to give teachers greater freedoms and reduce unnecessary bureaucracy. Since I have been shadowing education and more recently held the brief in government there has been one organisation of whose purpose and benefit to teachers I am deeply sceptical – the General Teaching Council for England.

I believe this organisation does little to raise teaching standards or professionalism. Instead it simply acts as a further layer of bureaucracy while taking money away from teachers.

I want there to be stronger and clearer arrangements in relation to teacher misconduct and I am not convinced the GTCE is the right organisation to take these forward. I intend to seek authority from Parliament to abolish the General Teaching Council for England.