SIC to review music tuition

COUNCILLORS in Shetland have slowed down plans to reform the way music is taught in the islands’ schools.

Last year Shetland Islands Council caused uproar in the community when it voted to start charging for music tuition.

Earlier this month officials reported that the money raised from charging was far less than expected.

However an attempt by Shetland South member Rick Nickerson to have the charges withdrawn while a review was carried out was defeated on the casting vote of services committee chairman Gussie Angus on 3 February.

Instead councillors agreed to appoint a part time administrator to iron out inefficiencies and inequalities in music tuition throughout Shetland. They also agreed that the range of instruments taught in schools should be reduced as instructors retired.

On Wednesday the SIC’s culture spokeswoman Florence Grains persuaded her fellow councillors to delay those changes while a full review of instrumental tuition was carried out.

“We need a review to know exactly where we are going and therefore I think it’s too early to appoint an administrator at this time,” she said.

Councillor Nickerson agreed, arguing the previous decision was “a train crash waiting to happen”.

He said no other council service was defined by which staff member retired first, and mentioned other anomalies, such as charging for primary pupils but not for advanced secondary pupils who “are committed and possibly would be more prepared to pay for charges”.

Councillor Gary Robinson said that he did not believe Shetland schools would stop teaching fiddle if all the fiddle teachers retired, adding: “The way it seems at the moment is that if someone came along to teach zither we would have bairns getting involved in learning zither.”

Councillor Nickerson, who last year led the campaign to keep music tuition free and resigned as culture spokesman when he failed, said he had given up on the fight…”for the moment”.