‘Education suffers’ in wake of university staff pay rises

RUSSELL Group vice-chancellors are accused of “cashing in while students suffer” after it emerged one in three had a pay rise during the pandemic.

The first set of accounts to cover an entire pandemic period show that in 2020-21 10 out of Britain’s 24 top-flight universities paid their boss more than in 2019-20.

The figures come as every Russell Group university still has some classes online, bar King’s College London which is returning to pre-pandemic teaching methods after a student revolt.

University College London paid the largest lump sum, at £589,000, split between the new and outgoing vicechancellor, a rise of £117,000 – 25 per cent – on the previous year.

‘It’s quite shocking. Students have still been expected to pay full tuition and often accommodation costs’

The largest amount for an individual remained Imperial College London’s president Alice Gast who got £518,000 – 11 times the median pay of the college’s fixed-term employees – though a reduction on the previous year.

The lowest paid was the University of York’s boss, at £256,000. Collectively, the 24 Russell Group chiefs received £9.1million in the year to July.

A survey in February, when all Covid restrictions were ditched, found that “blended learning” was still rife on three quarters of campuses, prompting ministers and regulators to launch inspections and threaten fines.

Student complaints to the ombudsman for universities hit a record last year. Arabella Skinner, from parents group UsForThem, said: “It’s shocking. Students have been still expected to pay full tuition and often, accommodation costs, when their educational experience is not what they have paid for. Vice-chancellors are cashing whilst students’ education suffers.”