File Teachers are facing increased fees and workloads, following changes to the registration process announced by the Teaching Council last year (file photo). As educators head back to the classroom for the 2021 school year, they are faced with a more than a doubling in registration fees, despite widespread backlash to the plan. Last May the Teaching Council announced that instead of teachers paying $220 every three years to register, they would have to pay $157 a year, resulting in fees more than doubling over the three-year period. Angry teachers rallied and a 30,000-signature petition was presented to the Teaching Council calling for a reversal in the fees. Another petition just shy of 11,000 signatures, addressed to the Education Minister Chris Hipkins, called for a review into the Teaching Council decision. The PPTA has also taken the matter to court, with a judicial review scheduled for May.