A new study has revealed that some university vice-chancellors are getting paid twice or three times as much as Prime Minister Kevin Rudd.

Universities are public institutions, yet the salaries of their top executives are being compared to those of merchant bank CEO’s.

Individual pay-packets are ranging from 400 thousand dollars per year, up to 1.9 million dollars.

In many cases VC’s are also receiving luxury cars, houses and more.

At a time when universities are struggling with a lack of resources and overblown class sizes, education unions aren’t impressed.

2ser’s Katrina Yu spoke to Ken McAlpine from the National Tertiary Education union.