Missing the constitutional target
The Swiss Music Council and its affiliated associations regret that the federal government does not want to create a framework law for music education.
On May 28, the Federal Council approved the draft of the Message on the promotion of culture in the years 2016-2019 sent out for consultation. It will run until September 19. The Federal Council now wants to implement the constitutional article that was overwhelmingly approved in the referendum on September 23, 2012. Musical education within the framework of the Cultural Promotion Act instead of creating a separate Music Act for this purpose.
The Swiss Music Council (SMR) has already publicly commented on this draft. In its press release of July 4, it writes that the implementation of the constitutional article on music education proposed by the Federal Council is unsatisfactory for the most part. Only a few regulations, for example the new provisions to support amateur music-making or the creation of the "Youth and Music" program, can be seen as positive.
On the other hand, the SMR considers it problematic if tariff reductions for low-income families and for talented music students who take several subjects are not to be compensated by municipalities or cantons, but by general tariff increases at music schools. He sees this as a threat to equal opportunities and access to music schools for children from the middle classes.
The Federal Council proposes to offer tariffs for children and young people up to the end of upper secondary level education "that are lower than the adult tariffs". The SMR considers this wording to be dangerous: "The proposed wording opens the door to tariff increases, a development that calls into question the existence of many music schools. A municipality would de jure already be in compliance with the law by subsidizing one percent of the adult tariffs. Swiss music schools are currently subsidized by the public sector to the tune of between 15 and 75 percent. The proposal in no way achieves the goal of harmonizing the appropriate participation of the public sector in music lessons at music schools nationwide."
The SMR considers the fact that the federal government wants to incorporate the constitutional article on music education into the Cultural Promotion Act to be a "fatal change of course". The SMR therefore stands by its central demand: the Confederation must "create a basis for coherent framework conditions across all areas (schools, music schools and amateur associations) of music education with framework legislation, which the cantons can use as a guide for broad, gifted and basic promotion".
