The plan is the fourth and final stage of a 128m investment programme to re-organise Glasgow's pre-12 education and tackle the problem of falling school rolls.
A report from the executive director of education, young people and training recommends that 28 schools should be closed. It also proposes to merge the remaining 23 under-capacity primary schools and replace them with new-build facilities.
The 51 primary schools concerned have a combined roll of fewer than 7,800 pupils, against a total capacity of nearly 21,400.
Every new-build school would offer pre-five facilities, and 24 existing nurseries and family learning centres would be relocated to the new school sites.
The council confirmed there were no plans to close down any pre-five facilities and that there would be no redundancies in any of the settings involved.
Leader of the council Steven Purcell said, 'This is not about education cuts. Every penny saved from reducing the number of these under-capacity schools will be reinvested in children's education in Glasgow.'
The proposals are out for public consultation until December.
Meanwhile, councillors in Edinburgh are also struggling with falling school rolls.
A report published by Edinburgh's children and families department last week predicted the primary school roll would drop by 25 per cent by 2013.
It said that if the issue of unfilled places is not addressed, Edinburgh could have the equivalent of 27 empty two-stream primary schools within eight years.
Director of children and families Roy Jobson said the council should consider a combination of school closures and mergers, as well as a review of school catchment areas.
The plans are out for public consultation until mid-November. For more information on the proposed changes and to take part in the consultations go to www.glasgow.gov.uk and www.edinburgh.gov.uk.
