The veteran councillor was commenting on the decision of the education committee last month to build a fourth off-site centre for the growing number of unruly pupils in Dundee.

There are presently well over 100 pupils in the city who have been expelled from mainstream schooling because their serious and extreme misbehaviour was disrupting the education of fellow pupils.

They are scattered around a range of schemes, ranging from a resourced location in Mossgiel Primary School, off-site centres at Castlepark, Balerno and Connect Five, and three programmes involving Dundee College and other agencies.

Most of them are for secondary age pupils, and in a report to the education committee director of education Anne Wilson explained that the existing provision was not enough.

“It is clear that the number of children and young people displaying extremely challenging behaviour and requiring off-site places is increasing, to the point where current levels of provision are insufficient,” she said.

“There have been in recent times individual pupils where the case for off-site placement has been made and accepted, but for whom no place has been available.”

The latest venture will be for secondary-age pupils, and its size and location are now being worked out as part of a further report to be submitted to the education committee in the new year.

Councillor Corrigan said his group supported the recommendation that Dundee needs another off-site centre for pupils whose behaviour is unacceptable.

“Other pupils have a right to learn in an environment that is free from disruption, and teachers also should not have to put up with pupils who are causing serious misbehaviour,” he said.

“When these things are being discussed we are always told that it is a minority of pupils who are causing the trouble. That may be so but is seems to be a growing minority.

“We in Dundee are having to provide and resource another centre for these pupils, and this will have an impact on the whole city.

“But this shouldn’t be just about bricks and mortar, because that will only scratch the surface of the problem.

“We should be asking why there has been such a breakdown of standards of behaviour by young people in society that so many of them are rejecting the education system which is for their benefit.

“What will be the effect on society of so many young people entering it who have not been acceptable for mainstream schooling? Will these young people become good citizens?

“These are some of the question which I think arise from this problem, and I think we need to look at it in a wider context than to just provide another building.”

Concern by teacher organisations about the number of unruly pupils led to the Scottish Executive changing its inclusion policy to one which recognised the need for off-site centres.