The "Teaching MOT" - the ticket to a smooth running profession or just another way to be fleeced?

So the latest furore which has erupted in the world of teaching is a suggestion by the Shadow Education Secretary, Tristram Hunt, that teachers should be licensed in order to stay in the profession, and that a Royal College of Teaching be set up. In an interview with the BBC Hunt noted that teacher should have "the same professional standing" as lawyers and doctors, "which means re-licensing themselves, which means continued professional development, which means being the best possible they can be," (Of course, if Hunt is serious about giving teaching "the same professional standing" as law and medicine, he might want to consider the pay and conditions of teaching as well as the licensing aspect!). He went on to say that "if you're not willing to engage in re-licensing to update your skills then you really shouldn't be in the classroom,"

Twitter seems to have exploded with anger at the proposals:

@sharpeleven: I think @TristramHuntMP may have lost #Labour hundreds of thousands of votes with his idiotic bash-teachers grandstanding. #NoToLabour

@NewcastleNUT: Well done @TristramHuntMP 3months in post you finally find something to say and alienate the whole teaching profession at once @TeacherROAR

@senornunes: Tristram Hunt in danger of becoming more unpopular than Gove. Incredible. Teachers expect Labour to respect them and education @TeacherROAR

@itvnews: Furious teachers react to licence MOT proposal http://t.co/3NKJpLUwfK

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