Shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt has revealed that under a Labour government, the UK would establish a new benchmark for teaching in state schools.

He said that an elite grade of "master teachers" would come into force if the party was elected in 2015, helping boost standards in education and usher in a new era of success.

Mr Hunt's proposals could also result in more attractive salaries, which would give teachers an incentive to stay in the sector. Additionally, it would do a lot to boost their sense of value in schools and indeed society in general.

It is often the case that talent is lost in classrooms because of teachers feel that they cannot better their salaries in their current position.

As such, many turn to management positions and opt to become headteachers, seek consultancy roles or completely abandon the profession.

Master teacher status would ensure that school children would benefit from expert tuition from talented teachers who were being paid a competitive salary.

Management, after all, isn't suited to everyone, and it is practical for and fair for highly skilled teachers to be on a similar salary as, for example, their headteachers – their work is just as important.

The MP for Stoke-on-Trent Central's idea is similar to a system that is used in Singapore, and, moreover, was actually first proposed in a document on education in 2011.

Although education secretary Michael Gove did not pay much attention to it at the time, the Labour party sees real value in it, hence Mr Hunt's public announcement on the matter.

The Observer reported that master teachers would be assessed by an independent body, which would set stringent criteria.

Anyone interested in pursuing such a career path would have three specialist options to choose from, including curriculum development in their chosen subject, leadership roles and classroom teaching methods.

"Day in, day out, it is the teachers in our classrooms who hold the greatest influence over the learning and development of our children," Mr Hunt was quoted by the newspaper as saying.

"If we want to compete with the rising powers of the east, we should learn from their success. That's what Labour is doing."

This is part of a wider plan that would ensure the total professionalisation of the sector, which is seen as one effective way of raising standards in education.

All teachers would have to be qualified to teach in classrooms, a concept that runs counter to the Conservative party's opinion that a qualification is not necessary in free schools and academies.

Their current coalition partners, the Liberal Democrats, share similar sentiments with Labour on the matter.

This has long been the case, with its leader and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg, saying last year that unqualified teachers cannot be allowed to teach in state schools.

Parents needs assurance that their children are benefiting from high quality teaching, courtesy of a teacher training qualification, Mr Clegg said in 2013.

"Over the last ten years, there's been a revolution in the way in which we've recruited and trained our teachers," he added.

"Whether it's through the on-the-job learning offered through schemes like Teach First and Schools Direct or the continued contribution of our universities to educating generations of Britain's teachers."

Master teachers would be under exceptional scrutiny to deliver exceptional levels of performance in students – this would be gauged by the high grades that school children being taught by elite practitioners would be expected to get.

Mary Bousted, general secretary of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, gave her support for Mr Hunt's radical proposal, saying that it could go a long way to reducing the number of teachers leaving the profession.

"This government has tended to overestimate the role of leadership in schools and to underestimate the role of teachers in the classroom," she explained to the Observer.

"We are facing the prospect of a recruitment crisis in schools and we need to do all we can to reverse that while also keeping the best teachers in the classroom."