Research funds for Essex University are to receive a £1m boost of Government cash but an after-inflation cut in its teaching grant.

University chiefs have criticised the decision made by the Higher Education Funding Council to hand out less funding per student in this year's budget.

Essex will receive a teaching grant of £15.6m for 2002, a 2.3 per cent increase on last year.

But a University spokeswoman said when the Government's official inflation target is taken into account, the cash allocation per student actually fell this year.

But the research teaching grant has risen by 16 per cent, and is due to go up to £7.6m next year, following Essex's breakthrough into the top ten research universities in the UK.

Vice-chancellor Prof Ivor Crewe, said: "It is deeply disappointing that the Government continues to provide universities with less funding per student year after year."

Published Friday, March 8, 2002