The Teaching and Higher Education Act 1998 (c 30) was enacted by the United Kingdom Parliament under the first Tony Blair government on 16 July 1998. It enabled universities to charge tuition fees, and established statutory General Teaching Councils (GTC's) for England, Wales and Northern Ireland and the modification the remit of the General Teaching Council for Scotland. The act also made provision for the new system of student loans that were introduced, and introduces paid leave from work for training towards a qualification. The passing of this act repealed the Education (Student Loans) Act 1998, and the sections relating to student finance in the Education Act 1996. The student loans system was later updated in the Higher Education Act 2004.
The Teaching and Higher Education Act is divided into four parts, which can be summarised as follows: