University heads enjoyed pay rises of nine percent at a time when they are stepping up calls for a rise in tuition fees. A Vice-chancellors’ umbrella group propose fees which could leave students in debts of up to £50,000 whilst their salary increases.

Seventy-one university heads enjoyed a bigger salary than the Prime Minister last year and four earned more than £300,000.

Earlier this week a blueprint published by the vice-chancellors’ umbrella group suggested that tuition fees should more than double to £6,500 a year.

Vice-chancellors insist that extra investment is urgently needed to maintain standards, compete with international rivals and meet employers’ and students’ heightened expectations of a university education.

But they faced accusations of hypocrisy after details of their own pay emerged in a survey by the Times Higher Education magazine.

Sally Hunt, general secretary of the University and College Union, representing lecturers, said: ‘In the week when universities have come out calling for higher university fees and staff are being warned that any pay increases may lead to redundancies, it is quite incredible and rather distasteful that vice-chancellors again have enjoyed such exorbitant pay rises.’

Read the Times Higher Education statistics.