From September, courses at universities across the country will offer the incentive to veterans who have left full-time employment in the British Army, Royal Air Force or Royal Navy during the past five years.
Education secretary Damian Hinds said: “Our ex-servicemen and women – who have already contributed so much to our country – have a wealth of experience and expertise that can be shared in the classroom, teaching pupils the knowledge they need to succeed alongside vital skills, such as leadership and self-discipline.”
The scheme will replace the Troops to Teachers programme, which was introduced in 2013 but which only resulted in 200 or so service-leavers training to become teachers.
Teachers’ unions, however, urged the government to focus its efforts on boosting general teacher recruitment by reducing workload and increasing pay.
The NASUWT said: “The evidence that incentive schemes of this type, regardless of the group at which they are targeted, are effective is mixed at best.”