Edinburgh Council must not treat climate strikers like truants
Scottish Greens education spokesman Ross Greer has urged Edinburgh Council to “see sense” over plans to restrict school climate strikes to once a year.
Edinburgh councillors will today decide whether to restrict permitted days off from school to a single day per year, after a Scottish Green motion called for councillors to back days of action by Scottish Youth Climate Strike (SYCS) group on September 20 and 27.
The strikes are part of a coordinated global movement started by sixteen-year-old Swedish school pupil Greta Thunberg.
Commenting, Ross Greer said:
“Instead of treating these young people like truants, Labour and SNP councillors need to start listening to them. They must recognise that school pupils have been forced to take this action by the failure of previous generations to stop the climate crisis.
“Green councillors made sure that Edinburgh led the way on supporting the first school climate strikes this year. Instead of taking this backwards step, the council should recognise that these actions are not only admirable, they are entirely in keeping with the Curriculum for Excellence and the objective of developing responsible citizens.
“We are in a climate emergency, with the UN giving governments just a decade to turn things around. Clearly our leaders need to educate themselves on the facts before deciding whether taking this vital political action damages the education of our young people.”