Dudley Council has decided to slash funding for a borough ethnic minority education service by almost half, despite public opposition.

In March last year, council members rubber-stamped a decision to cut funding for the Ethnic Minority Achievement Service (EMAS) by £306,000.

The support group, based in Bowling Green Road, Netherton, works with children in borough schools where English is not their first language to boost their academic attainment.

Following the original decision, furious EMAS members appealed to the High Court, which ruled the council had not carried out its consultation process properly.

A further three-month consultation period ran from September to December last year, where members of the public were asked to give their views as to the future of EMAS.

However despite the majority of responses saying funding should be set at the previous level of £611,800 members of Dudley Council’s cabinet agreed to cut the budget to £320,700 for 2009/2010.

In a report to members, interim director of children's services, Jane Porter said out of 3,000 targeted people, only 650 had responded and 48 were EMAS staff members.

Cabinet member for children’s services, Liz Walker, said: “I am a little disappointed at the number of quality responses and reasons.”

She added: “We are trying to raise the aspirations of all our children in Dudley. EMAS has done a great service over the years, but the world has moved on now and fewer new entrants are coming to the borough.”

Cllr Walker added if the cabinet didn’t agree to cut funding, they would be doing “a great disservice to many of our children in Dudley.”