(Pic: University of Birmingham)

According to a new report, university leaders are earning far more than leaders in the public sector, reports Charlie Wetton

The pay of university vice-chancellors has rarely been out of the news over the past few weeks, and there was more bad publicity today for our Uni leaders. The Guardian has reported that the amount that our vice chancellors earn is significantly higher than their relative peers in the public sector. Some of the individual examples show a startling discrepancy. For example, the chief executive of Birmingham City Council – the largest local authority in Europe was less than half that of the vice chancellor of the University of Birmingham, Sir David Eastwood who took home £378k.

The issue of vice-chancellors pay was shot into focus earlier this year when outrage over the vast pay and bonus package of Dame Glynis Breakwell of the University of Bath was revealed. Her £434k pay package is more than the leaders of the Bath City Council and the chair of the local NHS Trust combined.

Students at London South Bank University were not impressed with the high pay packets of those in charge. Lewis, a second-year product design student said “It’s kind of unacceptable that they are being paid so much. We have to pay so much money and they are getting paid so much and it isn’t fair.” Those sentiments were echoed by Claire, a first-year student of Politics. “There are lecturers out on strike at the moment because of what is happening to their pensions and yet their bosses are earning hundreds of thousands of pounds”

The government has been forced into taking action. The universities minister Sam Gyimah told the Guardian: “Vice-chancellors salaries must be justifiable and should not be excessive”