The controversial cost-cutting plan to establish a city campus in Dundee has come under fire from secondary school pupils.
A petition signed by 300 Morgan Academy pupils opposed to the plan was handed in at the City Chambers yesterday, ahead of today’s budget meeting.
Prime mover of the protest was David Mundt (15) a fourth-year pupil at the school, who said they were calling for councillors to look elsewhere for cuts.
“We heard last week from teachers about the city campus proposals and a lot of pupils were angry about it and we collected 300 signatures in three days,” he said.
“The city campus is more likely to discourage people from attending school. I think pupils benefit from learning in smaller groups and I think that is better for teachers, too,” he went on.
“Having 40 kids in a lecture hall just isn’t feasible. The whole idea of the city campus is not in the best interests of education, but of politics and finance.”
The city campus plan would result in pupils taking advanced highers or highers in less popular subjects travelling to different schools or the city’s universities for lessons.
The plan would account for £300,000 of the £4m slated to be slashed from the education department’s budget next year.
Staff savings would be £297,000 in 2011-12, rising to £481,000 in a full financial year, while transport costs are expected to come to no more than £11,000 each year.AdvantagesDundee’s director of education Jim Collins has defended the plan, saying it will have “clear advantages” for pupils and teachers not least by letting pupils study subjects unavailable at their own school.
However, David, who hopes to study law at university, said sixth year pupils already have the option to sign up for a college course if a subject is not available in school.
Administration leader Ken Guild said last night he was pleased school pupils were taking an interest in the future of education.
“I will certainly be replying to them in due course,” he went on. “Certainly, we have had quite a number of written approaches by individuals and organisations since we publicised the budget and our proposals.
“I think that is to be expected and welcomed because what we have done this year is to open up the whole budget procedure to people to allow participation.”
Councillor Guild said that theme was being followed by allowing deputations to today’s meeting.
Many of the representations received reflect the individual’s concern about how they will be affected by the budget, but overall “there has been quite an interesting range of views expressed,” he continued.
“What I would tell all of them is that we are able to get a budget tomorrow always assuming that it goes through which keeps the council tax where it is was, in agreement with our CoSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Authorities) colleagues, avoids any compulsory redundancies and safeguards front-line services.
“Most of the savings come from the areas of administration rather than actual services to the public.”