Head Teacher - now a massive earner

[barclaycon 569]

I've just seen this news item on the BBC News page.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-31715020

For students, education may be poor quality, expensive and of very little use when you want to get a job - but if you are a head teacher or senior lecturer it's a MASSIVE earner!

Neil Gorman the head of Nottingham Trent University earned £623,000 last year.

That is an enormous pay packet by anyone's standard.

Has he really done that amount of work ?

It's sickening really that at a time when those in education are struggling with tuition fees etc, these people regard themselves as equivalent to a CEO running a multi-national. Perhaps the trend of attracting students from abroad has convinced them that they are high flying executives, instead of teachers.

I'm told that that there are more Chinese students at Trent than people who are actually from the MIdlands.

It seems that we are still stuck in a kind of 80's mindset, with people just demanding as much as they can get away with - regardless of what they do and how they do it.

Primary school heads, University directors and vice-chancellors should not be earning this kind of pay.

What a gravy train.

[Bubblewrap 3,815]

£623k peanuts!

Some premier league footballers get that(I wont say earn) in a month.

And all they do is kick a ball around.

If you look at the turnover of Nottingham Trent University in cash term it is in the millions

Managing a top university takes as much skill & experience as running a large company.

[siddha 826]

Unfortunately when there is a doctrinaire approach to services that moves what were nationalised (state organised) services into the market place then they become businesses. One thing we should know by now is that in a (successful or unsuccessful) business those that run it will see that they are paid handsomely.

School, universities, hospitals, roads........... nearly everything that was important and required good government has been privatised. We do not seem to twitch at the astronomical salaries paid to other leaders of businesses so we should not with these guys either. They are just taking the breaks that come in their direction as a free market allows.

[FLY2 10,109]

Downright greed and avarice. Pigs & trough spring to mind.

[catfan 14,795]

Disgraceful.

By all means rip the Chinese off, but up to £9k a year tuition fees, now we know where the money is going.

[Karlton 582]

And they say its tough at the top.

[DJBrenton 738]

A little perspective would be nice. Whilst the £623,000 figure appears, on the face of it to be a lot for a year, it isn't anywhere near the true story. Professor Gorman was on a 5 year contract with ambitious targets. The bonuses for reaching those targets were only payable on completion of that contract and that is why this year's payment was so high.He is NOT on £600k a yea, but £370,000 with a potential (achieved) further £50,000 bonus. His appointment came at a critical time for the University and under his his first 5 year contract, Trent was named 'top post-1992 university in the country' and has since become one of the countries largest with 28,000 students. Over the 5 years his services cost £15 per year per student. You may think that's still a ludicrous amount of money but then people with his level of experience and skillset are in big demand and are not 2 a penny.

[FLY2 10,109]

I thought there'd be a good explanation !!!!

[Bubblewrap 3,815]

And we people who gamble with our money millions and give them even more millions as a bonus even if they loose. ;(

Wno are these gamblers BANKERS

[TBI 2,351]

It's market forces and comparisons again. Nottingham Trent is one of the largest universities in the UK, by student numbers, nearly 30,000. Aparently it has been achieving a good performance. There is the very significant commercial side as well as the academic, so running a university is a complex business. Whilst I agree £400k plus for university bosses seems an awful lot, that's the going rate for that particular job. As bubblewrap said, compare that to what football prima donnas and bankers trouser every year, it's peanuts.

Foreign students have been mentioned but they actually pay way more than the £9k our students are robbed of every year ( my youngest is at Loughborough ) so they pay proportionately more to overall costs.

[barclaycon 569]

Becoming a teacher or lets say, an MP, should be a vocation

i.e. something you want to do because it's a worthy, trusted and respected occupation.

Not because it's a massive earner.

Are you saying that people should become head teachers now because they are experts in business and their aim should be to make enormous amounts of money both for themselves and the trustees of their University ?

Is that what Universities are for now - to attract foreign investment and make profits like an investment bank?

[DJBrenton 738]

He's not a 'head teacher' any more than the Chief Executive of a hospital is 'Head Nurse' he was the CEO of a £213 million a year business. Are you really saying that a man who has taught earlier in his life has no right to apply for or accept the position?He has a fine pedigree in business management and has been a world leader in his field.

Let's just look at his CV shall we? Or shall we just dismiss him as a 'mere' teacher.

Professor Gorman took on this role in 2003, leading the design and implementation of a radical new strategy for the University drawing on his background in international business management in the private sector; academic leadership; and leadership of the veterinary profession where he is an international authority in veterinary science with a particular emphasis on comparative immunology and oncology.

He started out as a Cambridge Graduate, was junior research fellow at Wolfson College Cambridge, taught at the University of Florida and at Michigan State, and was Professor of surgery at Glasgow University before leaving to become Head of Research at the Waltham Centre for Pet Nutrition in the UK, Vice President R&D at Mars Petcare Europe and subsequently Global Director -- Science and Technology platforms- for Masterfoods Europe before taking on this post at Nottingham Trent.

Along the way, he was President of the RCVS between 1997-1998 and become a Fellow of the RCVS among a number of other distinctions -- quite a diverse and accomplished career.

[barclaycon 569]

So that's a YES then.

He's not there to be head teacher, he's the equivalent of a merchant banker and should be paid £600,000 a year to get students in from abroad ?

At a time English students are left with £27,000 of debt (not that they are likely to get into Trent).

I have never described, or dismissed anyone as a 'mere' teacher. I have been fortunate enough to have been taught - even inspired, by several people throughout my education who were genuinely interested in teaching rather than enriching themselves and indulging in a 5 star lifestyle.

The guy's pay is completely disproportionate to what he does and shows the "lack of accountability surrounding senior pay and perks".

[DJBrenton 738]

I'm afraid you're just showing how little appreciation you have for the difficulties of such jobs. He is paid what he is because he is very, very good at what he does and very few people would be able to do his job as well as he does. That's not the case for most jobs and if you bothered to read properly you'd see he doesn't get paid £600k a year. He accrued £250k in bonuses over 5 years, payable at the end of the contract. His true earnings were £420k a year. A friend of mine is CEO of a £400million a year business. He earns roughly the same. If you want the highest calibre people then you have to compete for their services.

Your OP quoted 'For students, education may be poor quality, expensive and of very little use when you want to get a job'. Well under his stewardship, Nottingham Trent became the best university in the country for it's graduates finding jobs. Maybe there's something to be said for getting the best to run the 'business'.

[barclaycon 569]

Ah I see.

That's allright then.

[DJBrenton 738]

What's your problem? Universities have to manage their finances. You do get that don't you? During this last 5 year contract, Professor Gorman took the University from £161million income to over £213million with a surplus of £26million in 2014 alone. This money has been reinvested in growth as you can easily see at the various campuses. Overseeing growth like this is extremely challenging and is not something many people can do succesfully. Would you rather someone less capable had been given the job at a lower salary and with less likelihood of success? Academic standards have been raised and, as I said, it is now the best university in the country for graduates getting jobs. This sort of improvement is worth paying for. Professor Gorman could easily have taken his skills elsewhere at the same or higher money and Trent University may not have been improved so much as a result. Bitterness and jealousy is really ugly.

[NewBasfordlad 3,599]

I don't often agree with your view point DJB but on this one you are spot on.

It would appear there is a little green eyed monster lurking here.

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

I don't think anyone gets the point. Whether it is footballers, bankers, headteachers, heads of local authorities, there really has to be a limit. If they are given a job to do and targets to meet, then that is their job. What if the very very best in any profession or whatever was paid extra, it would become really silly. I was probably the very best at my job on the railway. I did not expect or get extra money. All pay has to come from somewhere, whether it is profits or taxpayers. A fair wage or salary should be agreed (and NOT OTT) and whatever is left should be invested in the business and maybe employ extra staff or reduce the taxation on all who have to pay. I would never grudge those at the top higher pay but there has to be a limit.

[catfan 14,795]

So he's a Vet then ?

[TBI 2,351]

I think the point is clear and it's been discussed to the death on previous threads. In this instance, a highly-qualified and widely experienced individual was recruited at an agreed rate to do a job That rate was within the ball-park for that particular job. Bilbraborn, when you were on the railway and were the very best in your job, would you have accepted less than what was recognised as the going rate? Are teachers expected to forego remuneration, just because it's a vocation? If so there would be even less teachers than there are now.

catfan, yes it seems he is a vet, amongst quite a few other things. The point is, that his tenure at NottinghamTrent has been very successful for the University. Therefore he's earned his pay-packet

[DJBrenton 738]

I don't think anyone gets the point. Whether it is footballers, bankers, headteachers, heads of local authorities, there really has to be a limit. If they are given a job to do and targets to meet, then that is their job. What if the very very best in any profession or whatever was paid extra, it would become really silly. I was probably the very best at my job on the railway. I did not expect or get extra money. All pay has to come from somewhere, whether it is profits or taxpayers. A fair wage or salary should be agreed (and NOT OTT) and whatever is left should be invested in the business and maybe employ extra staff or reduce the taxation on all who have to pay. I would never grudge those at the top higher pay but there has to be a limit.

In the case of a contract, it's quite common to have part of the agreed payment deferred dependent on performance. Perhaps he should simply have been paid the extra £50,000 a year even if he hadn't helped generate improvements and met targets. Would that be better? Or is it the same as the millions of people who receive bonuses based on company or personal performance. Even the cleaner at John Lewis gets an annual bonus based on profits. You say there has to be a limit but what does it have to do with you what he, or someone else gets paid? When I had my own business do you think you should be able to say what the maximum amount I could pay those who worked for me should be, or should I be free to pay whatever I felt necessary to get the right people in place.

[Bilbraborn 1,594]

The point I was trying to make was, what does a person need all that money for? And my agreed rate was the same rate nationwide whether you were brilliant or useless. As I said, top jobs need to be paid good money, but there is a limit. If he is the best So What? You can either do the job or you can't, and if you can't, then let someone else do it. Some of that money could be put back into the good of the university or used to help reduce fees. I suspect the reason for its success is the type of subject taught there.

[PeverilPeril 3,300]

I agree with everything that DJB has said. Quite astute.

As for comparing Prof Gorman's salary with footballers and bankers! That's just downright silly.

[TBI 2,351]

If someone is excellent at what they do, and gets paid the same rate as someone who is useless, is that a good thing? Is that going to promote excellence, I don't think so!

[siddha 826]

#22

"As I said, top jobs need to be paid good money, but there is a limit."

There are no limits in a free market.

Bilbraborn I am in agreement with your views but the reality is that the way we organise things through our pseudo democratic system has lead to us being governed by a bunch of wealthy individuals that have done and continue to do very well out of the free market. They believe that it is the right mechanism for rewarding the best performers and weeding out the weak or unsuccessful.

The only way in which we might begin to get to grips with that which you are understandably annoyed about it is to have a mechanism for intervention of some kind. The potential administrations that might have had a go at that are sadly long gone but they would include the old Labour Party (pre-Blair) or the Democratic Socialists , they were wedded to fairness and equality of opportunity for all. The options these days do not include such ideas or any suggestion that huge salaries are not needed or inappropriate.