More than 100 parents demonstrated outside the City Chambers last Friday as councillors voted for a public consultation on the proposals, and four mothers chained themselves to the barriers outside the Chambers in protest.
A petition aimed at saving one of the schools, Victoria primary and nursery school in the suburb of Govanhill, has been signed by more than 1,000 people.
The council's proposals would affect more than 2,000 children and 100 teachers, who are to be redeployed to other settings.
The Labour-led council launched the six-week consultation last Monday (2 February), despite objections from opposition councillors who wanted more time for discussion before the proposals went out to the public.
SNP councillor Patricia Gibson criticised the plans and said, 'By pushing on with their timetable regardless of public concern, Labour are riding roughshod over the concerns of many of those with an interest in primary and nursery education in Glasgow. We want to see change on the basis of local need and not through budgetary pressures.'
A statement published by the council said, 'No final decision will be made on any proposal until everyone who has an interest has had a chance to make their views known. However, if these plans were to go ahead, all the children affected would receive a better education in better accommodation.
'In addition, in the majority of mergers involving nurseries, more parents would have access to provision from 8am to 6pm. This is in line with the council's new Early Childhood and Extended Services Strategy, which is aimed at providing high-quality education and childcare, and working with parents to help more of them find employment.'
