Money is a tetchy subject in education, especially in FE, where it’s harder to come by than coherent information regarding T levels.

When a story breaks like the one about an interim college leader receiving £173,000 for seven months’ work, questions inevitably follow.

I’m not privy to the hardships and trials that come with such a position and I assume that the pressure and workload are extremely large. But £20,000-a -month large? According to official statements, the pay lined up with market conditions.

Giving large salaries and bonuses to managers while pay for front-line staff dwindles has long been a bone of contention in FE, not least because of the intimation of worth. A college citing pay that lines up with market conditions is fine, but those conditions only seem fixed for some: colleagues lower down have an almost ever-present anxiety regarding the stability of their role.

It’s a stark message to send your workforce: that some people are worth each month what is very close to a starting lecturer’s annual wage, especially if those lecturers have to face working to the best of their ability in times of crisis for a college.

When it comes to certain positions in FE, it’s desirable to ensure that people are given what they’re worth, whereas in others that perhaps isn’t the first priority. Or the second. Or the eighth.

I’m off to apply to be an interim principal.

Tom Starkey teaches English at a college in the North of England