The concerns of a north-east MSP have been dismissed by the Scottish Prison Service over the benefit to society of prisoners at HMP Grampian being given lessons in Doric.
Scottish Conservative Liam Kerr has taken issue with the news inmates are to be taught the north-east dialect by Alistair Heather.
The newspaper columnist and social media star is understood to be giving up his time for free to share his love of the Scots language with prisoners in the £90million super-jail in Peterhead.
Mr Kerr claims they should only be taught things which will help them land a job upon their release.
The criticism of the institution comes after inmates were pictured sunbathing last year.
Some branded it “The Grampian Resort” on Facebook, leading to concern the jail was too soft on inmates.
The Tory shadow justice secretary said: “Prison should focus on the rehabilitation and training of prisoners in order to help them secure jobs after they have paid their debt to society.
“It is difficult to see how sunbathing and Doric lessons would help that.”
It is understood educational programmes led by performers are not uncommon at the prison, especially in August during the Edinburgh festivals.
A spokesman for the Scottish Prison Service dismissed the concerns, adding: “It has to be a good thing that someone is freely volunteering to give up their time for the prisoners.
“We provide a wide range of learning opportunities for those in our care.
“This a well-established programme, and the arts are one of these things that gets people to engage in learning in a way other subjects do not.”