Senior managers at some of the Netherlands’ biggest universities are breaking guidelines on expenses and even spending money on chauffeur driven cars, according to an investigation by RTL news.

Not only are universities facing spending cuts but education minister Jet Bussemaker has urged them to take a ‘sober’ approach to spending by management, the broadcaster says.

However, research shows some university chiefs are flying business class when ordered to travel economy and are staying at more expensive hotels on foreign trips than permitted.

Utrecht University, for example, pays almost €300,000 a year for cars and taxis for its three board members but there is little information about the purpose of the journeys, RTL says. Delft University spends €180,000 a year running two Mercedes with drivers.

Amsterdam University spent €9,000 on a business class plane trip to Brazil for one member of its board and an official at Radboud spent almost €3,000 on a designer leather office chair.