PUPILS will now only be authorised to miss school to go on climate strikes once a year after a decision by Edinburgh City Council.
Activists have vowed to “keep challenging” the limitation after a meeting of the local authority’s education committee on Friday.
Pupils had previously been turning up to protest outside the Scottish Parliament on an “ad hoc” basis, with permission first granted by the council in March.
Education Committee decides pupils can have one authorised absence during the academic year to attend climate change protests and make their voices heard re this global issue: #edinwebcast https://t.co/5FpM44rteS pic.twitter.com/jpeHtoEysm
— The City of Edinburgh Council (@Edinburgh_CC) August 16, 2019
It was the first local authority in Scotland to make such a move.
Now, absences to protest that are not part of the agreed day off during the academic year will be recorded as unauthorised, with “parental consent” required.
Eight councillors voted for the motion, while two – both Greens – voted against.
More action is planned by the Scottish Youth Climate Strike (SYCS) group on September 20 and 27 as part of what has become a continuing global movement started by 16-year-old Greta Thunberg.
Sandy Boyd, of SYCS said after the meeting: “It’s a little disappointing, but they have given us permission for one strike a year.
“We will keep striking no matter what and we will keep challenging the council on this.”
Thousands of children previously descended on the Scottish Parliament building in March and May along with fellow pupils in more than 100 towns and cities across the UK.
Smaller groups have been gathering at Holyrood every Friday since January.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here