Budget cuts in Dundee for basic school supplies have been slammed as “short-sighted, damaging and stupid”.
The £500,000 cut will see spending per pupil slashed to just £63.30 per year for classroom essentials like textbooks, pens and pencils.
In a further measure, computer equipment in Dundee schools will not be updated.
Opposition councillor Laurie Bidwell has severely criticised the plans, part of wide-ranging budget cuts announced by the city council this week.
He claims the proposals equate to a 100% cut in spending on updating computers and a 25% reduction in cash for new textbooks and other materials.
Removing a senior post at the much-lauded Young Mum’s Unit at Menzieshill High School is also on the table, making up part of a £3.3 million budget reduction announced by SNP administration finance convener Willie Sawers on Tuesday.
Mr Bidwell says spending per pupil will now fall at a time when a single textbook can cost up to £21.99.
He claims parents and carers along with many dedicated teachers will be forced to fork out money from their own pockets to make up the shortfall and provide much-needed books and other equipment like paper and coloured pens.
Teachers’ union the EIS has condemned the cuts, with local secretary David Baxter stating any tampering with the education budget “affects the life chances of our young people, that’s the bottom line”.
For in-depth coverage of the pressures facing education budgets, see Thursday’s Dundee edition of The Courier.