A UNION leader has slammed a UK Government scheme which will see millions of pounds spent on hanging portraits of King Charles in schools.
Schools across the UK have now been invited to apply for a portrait of the monarch as part of an £8 million project.
The A3 portrait of the King in “ceremonial dress with decorations” will be printed on “high quality paper” and mounted in a “FSC certified oak” frame, with schools invited by the Department of Education to apply for “free” copy this week.
The portraits are set to be delivered to schools in the spring.
The General Secretary of the National Education Union, Daniel Kebede, tweeted a cutting response to the invite.
He said: “Out of glue sticks? Leaky roof? Damp entering through that cracked window frame?
“What your school needs is a picture of King Charles printed on ‘high quality’ paper.”
Out of glue sticks? Leaky roof? Damp entering through that cracked window frame? What your school needs is a picture of King Charles printed on 'high quality' paper. https://t.co/S3O90dernP
— Daniel Kebede (@DanielKebedeNEU) November 14, 2023
An enormous backlash was sparked when the plan was first announced in April, with the SNP and Greens saying it was inappropriate during a cost of living crisis and branding it something that “would look more at home in North Korea”.
Another teacher wrote in response to the scheme: “If we don’t get the portrait can the school have a credit for its cost?!? 8 million – how many TA’s would that pay for.”
Councils, courts, police forces and fire and rescue services are among the other organisations able to participate in the scheme.
Schools will not be able to see the portrait before they submit their requests, with the photo due to be formally released by the royal household in December.
In April, deputy prime minister Oliver Dowden said the new portraits “will serve as a visible reminder in buildings up and down the country of the nation’s ultimate public servant”.
