BMA denies hitting dud notes

City Hall has rebutted a former Democrat Party MP’s claims that there were irregularities regarding the purchase of musical instruments for schools under its supervision.

A source at the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) insisted music classes are beneficial to students as they can boost musical talent and improve students’ moods and emotional health.

The source was responding to ex-Democrat Party MP Wilas Chanpitak who claimed music classes initiated by the BMA were “not practical” and procurements of musical instruments were not transparent.

The BMA has a policy of encouraging students to attend music classes that allow them to practise several skills, the source said.

In 2008, the agency spent 1.3 billion baht on musical instruments for more than 200 schools, the source added.

Musical instruments bought included drums, electric guitars, keyboards and pianos. Funds were also allocated to construct studios.

In the initial stage, a total of 14 million baht had been approved for 10 schools in 2008 when Puttipong Punnakan served as deputy governor.

But a larger budget was allocated to run the project and spent on new musical instruments which “can be expensive”, the source said.

In addition to academic studies the BMA also cares for students’ emotional health. Music is a powerful tool to allow students to relax after school, the source said.

However, improving students’ musical skills does not require a substantial sum, Mr Wilas said. He said buying a 165,000-baht piano for a school was a waste of money.

The approved budget was spent on buying classical guitars and other instruments that have not been used by students, Mr Wilas said. He said some schools do not even have music teachers.

The project requires more than 1.3 billion baht but it does not seem to be producing worthwhile results, he said.

“It is doubtful the project is worth the budget,” Mr Wilas said.

Meanwhile, a Bangkok Metropolitan Council (BMC) meeting held to discuss expenditure for 2016 has agreed to cut its budget for music classes for schools under its supervision.

Council members at the meeting were told the budget is needed to improve the quality of studying and teaching in many schools.

The BMC has approved a budget next year of more than 336 million baht to be spent on the project’s second stage.