Schools in Northern Ireland could be forced to close because they are safety risks, a new report has revealed.
The Northern Ireland Audit Office said the Pounds 114 million bill for maintenance work is probably a sizeable under-estimate. And it warned that around half the work involves health and safety.
“There could be a real risk in relation to the health and safety of children, staff and parents,” the report said. Of nine schools seen by Audit Office staff, four were in such a poor state of repair they needed to be replaced, and another has had a section closed for two years.
The chief executives and other senior administrators of the province’s area boards (local authorities) may now be called before the Parliamentary Select Committee which oversees Northern Ireland to respond to the report’s criticisms.
The report said four of the five boards did not have the information they needed on the state of their schools to ensure effective maintenance.
And in the absence of reliable information, the Department of Education is not certain that even the most essential maintenance is being carried out.
At the same time, however, there is surplus capacity in the province, with15,000 spaces in the primary sector and 17,000 in secondary schools.
The Audit Office is worried that not enough money is being spent on maintenance. “This is a form of disinvestment which is ultimately a false economy,” the report concluded.
