PUPILS have hit out at Edinburgh City Council proposals to limit climate change protests to just one day a year.
Thousands of children descended on the Scottish Parliament building in March and May as part of a wider movement across the UK.
Edinburgh City Council was one of the first authorities to allow pupils to miss school with parental permission so they could protest.
However, a report which will be discussed by the education committee today calls for a single-day limit.
More action is planned by the Scottish Youth Climate Strike (SYCS) group on September 20 and 27.
The council’s education convener, Councillor Ian Perry, acknowledged that climate change is one of the most important issues facing young people but said there needed to be a balance.
He said: “If we allow them more than one day, the issue will be they are missing school.
“We are confident that one day won’t affect their education. If they feel really strongly about it and they strike and say that climate change is more important than their education, that is up to the pupils and their parents and could have the potential to harm their education.”
An officer’s report states: “The theme of the strike was powerful and emotive but should not be the overriding issue in determining whether children are encouraged to be present at school. There are other, more productive ways to demonstrate support for climate change.”
One SYCS organiser, Dylan Hamilton, 15, said: “The climate crisis is the biggest threat to humanity, with the group most affected being the children. We are the ones who will be
impacted the most and all we want is a seat at the table with effective climate targets being decided.
“Allowing us to protest once a year is simply not acceptable and will not let us get across to the people in power how serious this is.
“By striking we learn politics, organisation, science, independence and more about society than we’ve ever been taught. To say we are harming our education is untruthful. Furthermore, punishing pupils for attending the climate strikes is a violation of our human right to freedom of expression.”
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