Teesside University has been forced to open a new Prague-based ¡°study centre¡± to ensure students can finish their degrees after terminating a partnership with a cash-strapped private provider in the Czech capital.

Academics at Prague City University (PCU) claim the institution has failed to pay them for months?owing to a ¡°deteriorating¡± financial situation, leaving them thousands of euros out of pocket.

PCU¡¯s programmes have been accredited by Teesside since 2008, and the north-east England university said it had funded the final months of the last academic year to allow students to finish their courses.?

But it said PCU¡¯s financial situation had left it with ¡°no choice but to terminate our partnership¡± and it was now working to establish a new base for students for the start of the academic year.

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In an?, staff at PCU allege that ¡°a long period of poor management¡± has resulted in some academics being owed more than CZK150,000 (?5,000) in lost wages.

¡°Despite frequent requests, we have not received any transparent explanation for the situation, nor any solution for the unpaid wages in either the short or long term. As a result, many teachers have suffered significant financial difficulty,¡± they write.

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Teesside stressed that PCU was ¡°an entirely independent legal entity¡± which also offered independent courses.

It was working with the Czech government to establish a ¡°new study centre¡± in Prague which will ensure that students currently enrolled on Teesside¡¯s courses at PCU, as well as those due to begin in September 2025, can continue their studies ¡°with minimal disruption¡±.?

But staff, who undertook a marking boycott in response to the lack of payment, say they have received minimal communication from PCU and Teesside, and it remains unclear whether Teesside will remunerate their lost wages or will offer them positions at the new institution.

The open letter says: ¡°While Teesside has stated that its priority is the continuity and quality of students¡¯ education, without resolving the issue of unpaid salaries, many of the teachers who have been delivering these courses will not return in September.?

¡°Additionally, we have no knowledge of the resources or facilities that will be available to students going forward. It is therefore unclear what this ¡®continuity¡¯ will look like, and we are sceptical about the future of any institution that inherits the inconsistent legacy of PCU.¡±

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The academics called on Teesside to acknowledge ¡°its part in the crisis as the accrediting and controlling body¡± and remunerate wages.?

Theo Carnegy Tan, an associate lecturer in art at PCU, told?̽»¨ÊÓƵ that?his experience in Prague was ¡°one of the most unprofessional¡± of his career.

¡°My students were the first to be affected, with their studio access withdrawn less than halfway through the semester. In the meantime, all teachers were encouraged voraciously to keep teaching even though there was clearly no money available to pay them. Some of us are owed more than €3,000 in pay,¡± he said.

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Peter Watkins, associate lecturer in art at PCU, said that he had not been paid by the university since December 2024, and the experience had been ¡°demoralising¡±.?

¡°We tried to carry on for the students without standards slipping, but it¡¯s been very difficult to continue with no prospect of job security and no prospect of getting paid.¡±

Teesside¡¯s statement acknowledged that ¡°over the last few months, the?financial situation at PCU has deteriorated significantly¡±, adding PCU has ¡°been unable to meet its liabilities, including its contractual obligations to its staff and to Teesside University¡±.

¡°We plan for our new study centre to be operational for the start of the new academic year?in September and are working at pace to secure this ambition.¡±

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Prague City University was approached for comment.

juliette.rowsell@timeshighereducation.com