TORY councillors at Blackburn with Darwen Council have called for the head of the borough's education chief, accusing him of failing the area's pupils.

Conservatives want Mahfooz Hussain, executive member for education and lifelong learning with Blackburn with Darwen Council, to resign in the wake of Darwen Moorland and Queens Park Technology College in Shadsworth being put into special measures.

They demanded to know why standards had apparently been allowed to slip and said it was time for "brickbats".

But Councillor Hussain today hit back and said: "Why should I resign?"

Michael Lee, Conservative member for resource and policy renewal, challenged Coun Hussain on his standing as executive member for education.

"He has blamed everybody but himself. It is time he followed the example of Beverley Hughes who has resigned from her post as immigration minister," he said. "He has let those schools down but he seems to think it isn't his fault.

"He has stood up month after month and taken all the applause but is not prepared to take responsibility. He should resign because it is his department and his responsibility."

But Mahfooz Hussain insisted his department has seized the opportunity to help the two schools which were put into special measures within weeks of one another in February.

Unruly children, bad behaviour and difficulty in recruiting and retaining staff were some of the reasons why the two schools were dubbed as "unsatisfactory" by Ofsted education watchdog inspectors - despite both schools receiving extra Government funding from the Education Action Zone.

Coun Hussain said: "Why should I resign? The Conservatives asked me if I take responsibility for what has happened. We all have to take responsibility for it because what happened was down to everybody -- the parents, teachers, governors, and pupils.

"Now we have more power to intervene and I am confident we can get them out of special measures rapidly."

The backlash against Mr Hussain over school measures comes just weeks after the Liberal Democrat education spokesperson Paul Browne accused the council of a cover up after £300,000 in specialist consultants failed to show any improvements in school standards.

Coun Edward Harrison said: "Out of 16 Conservative members the majority feel that he should stand down."

And former education Conservative spokesman Coun Sheila Williams backed the move. "We have called for his resignation," she said. "When Blackburn took over the education authority from Lancashire we had a lot of schools in special measures.

"The council has been very good at accepting praise for turning some of those schools round and being accredited with Beacon status. Now it is time to take the brickbrats."

Sir Bill Taylor, leader of Blackburn with Darwen Council, said: "I feel somewhere between disappointment and despair with Coun Lee's supposed demand.

"As deputy leader of the Conservative group, he should understand that running a school is a very complicated matter and that the LEA has done as much as it can as early as it can to improve the situation of Darwen Moorland.

"We really need to be working together with this and not kicking the children about like a political football.

"Mahfooz does a cracking job and he has our full support.