Robbie MeredithEducation and arts correspondent, BBC News NI
PA Media
The Education Minister Paul Givan has said he can spend extra money to give teachers a pay deal in 2025/26.
Givan was seeking approval to spend extra money by issuing a ministerial direction – a formal instruction to overrule advice from accounting officers.
He has said that the first and deputy first ministers have now approved the move.
That means he will be able to make a pay offer to teachers in early 2026, although it is not clear what that offer will be.
The Northern Ireland Teachers’ Council (NITC) has welcomed the approval.
A spokesperson for the NITC said the council looks “forward to engaging constructively” with management side at the Teachers’ Negotiating Committee in early January.
“Our focus remains on securing a fair and sustainable pay offer for teachers, who have waited patiently for progress amidst the ongoing pressures within the education system,” they added.
‘An important step’
‘Categorically untrue’