Shock figures have confirmed that Highland and Moray have by far the highest proportion of schools in “poor” condition in Scotland.
More than half of Moray’s primary and secondaries are crumbling, according to the data, and in Highland the rate is just above 40%.
The statistics were branded “extremely worrying” last night, as education chiefs and government ministers were urged to take action.
A total of 69 primaries in Highland were rated “poor” for condition in April, with the next highest in Scotland being Moray, with 24.
A dozen secondaries in Highland were judged to be in the same category, again topping the charts across the nation, followed by Fife with six, and Moray and Edinburgh with five.
Aberdeen City had one primary described in that way, while there were two secondaries said to be in poor condition in Aberdeenshire.
Highland also had the most schools in Scotland rated “poor” for suitability, but Moray only had one in that category.
North MSP Edward Mountain said: “Whether it is overcrowding or poor conditions, the Highland school estate is in poor shape.
“This SNP government and the Highland Council need to take action so our children are given the opportunities for their future that they deserve.”
On the situation in Moray, Shadow Education Minister Jamie Halcro Johnston said: “This is an extremely worrying report and will be of real concern to both parents and staff alike.
“It is incredibly disappointing that the situation has been allowed to deteriorate to this state and it requires urgent attention by Moray Council.
“However, we must also recognise that the chronic condition of much of the school estate is, in some part, a result of the long-term under-funding of Moray Council by a Scottish Government too often focused on the central belt.”
Across Scotland, Education Secretary John Swinney said nine out of 10 pupils, almost 635,000, were being taught in schools classed as being in a “good” or “satisfactory” condition.
This was a rise of 1.6 percentage points over the last year and, he said, 958 schools had now been built or substantially refurbished since 2007/08.
Mr Swinney said: “These statistics show the tremendous progress we are making in building modern, high-quality and fit for purpose schools that make a real difference for pupils and teachers.”
A Moray Council spokeswoman said: “We acknowledge the challenge of continuing to modernise our school estate and welcome the Accounts Commission’s recent report, which recognises Moray Council’s Learning Estate Strategy as ‘an important step’ towards achieving this.”
A Highland Council spokeswoman said it had one of the largest school estates in Scotland, with 203 schools spread across an area that covers a third of Scotland.
She added: “We do have an ageing school estate and are continually working to make improvements to our education environments, with 11 schools identified as priorities in our capital plan.
“Preparatory work to resume construction activity on three key school projects, funded through our capital programme with the support of the Scottish Government, has commenced.
“This is a significant step towards the completion of new buildings at Alness Academy and Merkinch Primary, and the refurbishment of Inverness High School.
“Additionally, construction work has resumed on a range of other school improvement projects that were suspended in March 2020.
“This includes new or refurbished nursery accommodation at Deshar, Durness, Keiss, Rosebank, Tomnacross and Tongue Primary Schools that are all part of the Early Learning and Childcare expansion programme.”
She added: “As a council, we face various challenges in our ability to address school estate improvements, such as our borrowing capacity, impacts on our budget of capital investment, spend of other resources, and grant funding made available by the Scottish Government.
“These challenges are made more complex, and difficult, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic”.
An Aberdeen City Council spokeswoman said: “We continue to invest in the condition and suitability of our existing school estate through our condition and suitability programme, which provides funding for improvements to buildings with the aim of maintaining their condition as ‘good’ or ‘satisfactory” wherever possible.
“In addition, we are investing in new school buildings, with projects to deliver four new schools currently under way.”