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College accounts reveal bumper pay rises for principals in 2016/17

26 April 2018

Seventeen college principals earned over £200,000 in 2016/17, while over a third enjoyed a pay rise of 10% or more, new figures have revealed.

Commenting on the latest college accounts from the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), UCU accused college principals of being "greedy and hopelessly out of touch" on pay and said that mergers were no excuse for inflating leadership pay.

The union also said the fact that several colleges - including the likes of Hull College Group and Bradford College who are currently planning huge job cuts - were not included in the data raised serious concerns about accountability.

UCU general secretary Sally Hunt said: 'College principals who pocket huge pay rises while pleading poverty on staff pay look greedy and hopelessly out of touch. Many of the worst offenders are at recently merged colleges, but we are clear that mergers are no excuse for inflating senior pay.

'The fact that several colleges are not included in the data also raises serious questions about accountability to students and taxpayers. We urgently need much greater transparency in how senior pay is decided to ensure that leaders at all colleges can be held to account.'

Last updated: 26 April 2018

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