It could mean the beginning of the end for London Metropolitan University. £36.5 million is the current sum that is owed back to the Higher Education Funding Council for England due to incorrect student data returns.
Around 550 job losses are to be expected so the money required can be found. A spokesman for the University and College Union explained how he feels that“ staff and students are being punished for blunders up the top” and University staff member Amir Soumeeh suggested how he felt that other things should be done to reduce the number of job losses.
He hinted that he believes the senior employees are earning astronomical amounts of money, and as the issue has stemmed from the management they should take pay cuts and reduce bonuses so that more jobs can be saved.
A joint union strike between UCU and UNISON took place last week as the management of the University failed to agree to negotiate with staff trade unions and withdraw redundancy notices that were to be issued with nursery staff.
HEFCE are still set on recovering the funds that have been over paid across a five-year period. When suggested to them that it seems ironic that the government can find millions to bail out banks but not a University that enables access to higher education for some of the poorest students in the country – a spokesman replied:
‘”It would be unfair to the rest of the sector, we fund Universities on correct data”
Amy May Shead 