PARENTS are facing a new charge to register their children for school music tuition.
Families from Aberdeen will have to pay a £10 fee as well as increased tuition charges of £400 a year. Hiring an instrument will now cost £85 a year.
The charges have been introduced as part of Aberdeen City Council’s attempts to bridge a funding gap of more than £41 million.
However, last month, it emerged more than 100,000 pupils are missing out on music tuition across Scotland as a result of increased charges or a shortage of tutors.
Read more: Councils back right to charge for school music tuition
It follows a major campaign to oppose spiralling fees involving leading musicians, composers and educators.
In January, the Scottish Parliament’s education committee recommended music tuition should be free to all after an inquiry into the issue.
Music campaigner Alastair Orr said the increases in Aberdeen were a huge blow to parents.
Read more: Crowdfunding campaign to support legal challenge against school music fees
He said: “The situation has been made worse by the imposition of an £85 annual instrument hire charge and a further £10 charge for parents to register their child’s interest in receiving music tuition.
“These are nothing more than shameful stealth taxes. How much longer can the Scottish Government continue to stand by and allow local authorities to attack instrumental and vocal education in this way?”
A spokesman for the Educational Institute of Scotland teaching union urged all councils to scrap charges.
He said: “The introduction of additional charges for music tuition will only exacerbate the postcode lottery of provision that already exists across the country.
Read more: 100,000 pupils missing out on music tuition
“All the evidence indicates that charges create a significant barrier to access to music tuition, particularly for young people from less affluent backgrounds.
“Music is a key part of the curriculum and should never be seen as an add-on available only to those who can afford to pay for it.”
Aberdeen City Council refused to respond directly to the concerns over the increase in music tuition charges.
However, Jenny Laing, the council’s co-leader, said the financial constraints the authority was operating under were severe.
She said: “There have been many unpalatable measures that have had to be adopted to set a balanced budget for 2019/20.
“The priority for the council has been on protecting the most vulnerable.”
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