A proposal to sound the death knell for music lessons for most school pupils in Fife has been drummed out.
Fife Council had suggested that instrumental music tuition should only be provided for children who were studying music for an SQA exam.
The scrapping of lessons for all other youngsters would have saved £1 million over the next four years for the cash-strapped authority, it was predicted.
But council leader Alex Rowley has ruled out the option as the council looks for ways to save £100m over the next four years, stating that it would effectively wipe music education out.
Meetings had taken place with education officials over the last few days, he said, to explore all the suggested cuts.
He said: “This proposal will remain exactly that. It will not figure in our budget going forward. It will not happen.”
The assurance was praised by Dunfermline by-election candidate for the Scottish Conservatives James Reekie, who last week criticised the proposal.
Mr Reekie, an accomplished bagpipe player, had raised the issue last Thursday, demanding the council continue music tuition for all pupils who want it.
He said: “Every child deserves the option of learning a musical instrument, and this proposal would have driven a wedge through that. I’m glad the plans have been dropped, but it shouldn’t have even got to this stage.
“So much musical talent is honed away from the classroom, children should not have to justify their right to play on the basis they’re studying towards an SQA exam.
“All the research points to the fact learning an instrument can help with concentration and attainment in other areas, not to mention opening up so many other doors for youngsters.”
Mr Reekie had warned children would be placed at a huge disadvantage if the move to slash music tuition had been rubber-stamped.
He pointed out that the £1 million saved would have accounted for a mere 1% of the overall savings needed and warned that Fife would have regretted the decision deeply.
He said: “Studying towards a qualification is not the only way to prosper with a musical instrument some of the world’s most talented musicians don’t have the relevant qualifications.”
The suggestion to cut music tuition was just one of numerous means of saving money that the council is consulting the public on.
It formed part of Fife’s Big Change Challenge, which is seeking feedback from the public ahead of setting the council’s next budget.
Residents have been asked to look at a whole raft of measures to help reduce what the council spends. Views gathered this month and last will, the council said, help shape a draft budget.