News / SIC presses pause on tuition charges
PLANS to charge for music tuition in Shetland have been put on hold after a stirring debate over the competing demands of saving the islands’ culture or its community cash in Lerwick Town Hall on Thursday.
In February Shetland Islands Council agreed to save £130,000 by charging £140 a year for pupils wanting to learn a musical instrument, as part of the bid to slash public spending across the board by almost £10 million.
As the council’s services committee prepared to discuss the plans, petitions containing more than 6,000 signatures were handed in by the islands’ best known fiddler Aly Bain appealing for councillors to change their mind.
SIC culture spokesman Rick Nickerson led the call for a review of the plans, claiming that they would save far less than the schools service suggested.
Mr Nickerson said he hoped to come back to the council on 25 November with a package that would save more than £130,000 without removing free tuition from the islands’ schools.
His request was roundly condemned by councillor Gary Robinson who said pupils had to pay “to get sweaty” if they chose to take sport outside the normal school curriculum, and asked why music should be different.
“My stepdaughter has variously been involved in swimming, gymnastics, trampoline and learning to play the cello. These charges would still mean that playing the cello was the cheapest thing that she did,” he said.
Councillor Betty Fullerton was outraged that after agreeing to consult on closing schools during the same meeting, members were considering going back on a decision to stop free music tuition.
“I am quite angry about this. We have to make savings, and maybe we should charge more. Moray charges £258,” she said.
Some councillors said they knew families with several children who would be forced to pick which one would get music tuition, others wanted to preserve Shetland’s international musical reputation and one spoke of the potential of a music industry being undermined by the move.
Councillor Alastair Cooper warned that the council was in danger of opening a “Pandora’s box” if it went back on decisions to balance the budget made back in February.
Mr Nickerson won the day by 11 votes to eight, saying: “Bad policy is bad policy no matter how you dress it up. If we don’t agree this is going to deliver what we say it’s going to deliver we have to throw our hands up and say that.”
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