Two University of Wolverhampton employees commanded more than the £142,000 salary of the Prime Minister last year – and a further five took home at least £100,000.

The university today refused to disclose job titles or exact pay although councils give details of high earners under the Freedom of Information Act.

Other taxpayer-funded bodies, including Staffordshire Fire and Rescue Service, voluntarily publish big earners’ details on public websites.

A further 15 employees earned between £80,000 and £100,000, while 73 received got £60,000-£80,000.

Figures relate salary and bonuses paid in the academic year ending July 2009. The university says it will not make 2009/10 data available until early 2011.

The Government plans to cut universities’ teaching budgets by £2.9 billion and lift tuition fees limits to £9,000. Matthew Sinclair, of the TaxPayers’ Alliance, called on the university to cut costs and questioned the organisation’s transparency.

“As the market becomes more competitive and funding necessarily comes under pressure, they can’t let a sprawling, high-earning bureaucracy develop,” he said.

“Universities need to control their costs. These high salaries need to be reconsidered. At the same time, the university needs to accept that taxpayers have a right to see how their money is spent and accept transparency the way all sorts of other institutions from government departments to local councils have.”

Ashar Ehsan, university director of marketing and communications, said: “The university has provided figures in response to a Freedom of Information request and we have nothing further to add.”

Last week there were demonstrations against education cuts nationally and on November 11 a protest saw demonstrators raid the Tories London HQ.