Another said its impact would reach far beyond thousands of "disenfranchised" students.

Peter Mayne, principal of Paston College in North Walsham, has called an emergency meeting with North Norfolk MP Norman Lamb over fears the county will suffer a further skills shortage as a result of depleted student numbers.

And Liberal Democrat county councillor Barbara Hacker is seeking to get the proposal - made on Monday as part of a raft of £22m worth of "painful" cuts to bridge a funding shortfall following a meagre central government grant settlement - called in to the council's scrutiny committee.

Campaigners point out that while some other LEAs might not provide subsidies the proposal went directly against the council's objective to improve the low post-16 education take-up.

They claim it is compounded by existing transport problems in an area fraught with skills shortages, low aspiration and poor wages.

Mr Lamb said the proposal to scrap support across the board, including for special needs students, was "outrageous and staggering", pledging to take the issue up with the council.

"This is disastrous for a rural area with a low wage economy and with a high volume or rural deprivation. Even under the existing system it is often difficult, subsidised transport is a positive incentive to go to college for people in rural areas.

"A significant skills gap already exists and we need to improve the level of skills young people have."

Mr Mayne said: "It is short-sighted in the extreme. It will have an effect on sixth-form centres and GCSEs will fall down because people won't be working as hard for them to take their education further which will damage the economy."

Robin Parkinson, principal of Yarmouth College, said: "This seriously disenfranchises students, especially those on vocational courses who have to travel many miles to get the skills they require.

"It is bordering on the perverse to deny them access when we are trying to encourage take-up rates."

Currently the council pays around half of public transport travel costs for students living more than three miles from their chosen sixth form centre while many centres fork out for the rest out of already stretched budgets.

Students Unions in Norfolk are holding a crisis meeting on Tuesday and Danny Douglas, president of the Student Union at City College Norwich, said around 1500 students would be affected by the "warped" move.

He said: "Why should Norfolk young people not have access to education and training, whilst Norfolk continues to prioritise car drivers by building barmy by-passes and subsidising park and ride for car drivers?"

Laura Boyce, 17, from Dereham, is on a beauty therapy course at the college. She said: "I really want to do this course and it is not available in Dereham. Without the bus pass there is no way I could to come to college and pursue my dream."

Jamie Mann, 17, from Watton, who is studying Media, English and ICT, said: "I would have to quit college as bus travel would be unaffordable. I would have to try and find work, but I don't have the qualifications."

Lisa Dack, 17 a hair and beauty student from Watton, said: "I simply could not afford to come to college without being in the County Council Bus Pass scheme. I would being paying up to £500 a year and would have to drop out and get work, which would be badly paid as I would not have any qualifications"

The move would save the council £800,000 and it is planning to consult with sixth-form centres before a decision is made on February 22.

A spokesman for the council said rising fuel and contract costs would put an extra £1m on next year's schools and post 16 transport budget which is already more than £24m.

Any changes would be introduced for from September and would not affect current students.

Paul Fisher, assistant director of resources and efficiency within the council's Children's Services department, said: "This is not a position we want to be in. These are just proposals at this stage, and no decisions will be made by councillors until February.

"We do want to know what people think - young people, their families and of course we're engaging with colleges and other establishments, to make sure we get their views too."


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For up-to-date news and background information, see  http://www.edp24.co.uk/.

If you are concerned or angry about these proposals, make sure you have your say, before it's too late!

You can go to  http://www.norfolkblurb.co.uk/your_views.php and submit your views (anonymously) in an online form.

This is the message I sent:

I would like to express my concern at your proposals to scrap transport subsidies for students in further education.

I am a 21 year old Computing Science graduate, and when I was between the ages of 16 and 18, I attended Norwich City College for my A Levels. As my mother was at that time a single parent on a low income, I had a free bus pass to enable me to travel to and from college. If such a subsidy had not been available, it is possible I may not have had the opportunity to attend college, and this would have meant I would not have been able to go on to university, thus seriously limiting my career prospects.

I believe this proposal will deny many young people access to educational opportunites, and ultimately have a damaging effect on the local economy, as local companies would find it more difficult to find young people with the appropriate level of skills and qualifications.

You say it may save £863,000, rising to £3m in three years' time, but you have not considered the long term costs of this proposal. If young people are deterred from attending college/sixth form, then they will obviously have less qualifcations, which will make it more likely that they will be unemployed. The costs of providing housing/council tax benefit and other support for these disenfranchised youth may well, in the long term, work out at far more £3m. Furthermore, the social costs of the potential damage to the local economy also needs to be taken into consideration.

Therefore, I sincerely hope you will reconsider these proposals. I understand the financial settlement this year is difficult, but these plans will make life more uncomfortable for all Norfolk citizens in the long term. The youth are our future, and we should be encouraging them, not placing barriers in their way.

Thank you for considering my comments.