PPP school managers ‘lack control’

SOME of the teething problems encountered with the running of schools that have been built under Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) have been highlighted in a Department of Education inspection report.

Ballincollig Community School in Co Cork opened its state-of-the-art new building three years ago. It was one of five second-level schools built under a pilot PPP project between the department and private company Jarvis, which was paid around €283 million to maintain the schools for 25 years.

Education Minister Mary Hanafin announced last year that 27 more schools would be built under PPP contracts at a cost of €300m to the State up to 2009.

Ballincollig Community School opened in 1976 and was included in the pilot project due to the decline of the original building.

In a whole school evaluation (WSE) report of the 614-student school published yesterday, aspects of the PPP model and its impact on day-to-day management were pointed out.

Based on an inspection of the school last March, the report said the project was very beneficial.

The school has six science labs, four computer rooms, a performing arts area and music room, full-sized gym, a large cafeteria and outdoor sports facilities.

The report says the PPP arrangement makes management of resources simpler “to some extent” because Jarvis employs caretaking and cafeteria staff.

“School management has also spoken very highly about the work done in the area of general maintenance and the willingness of the parent company to facilitate requests for a healthier cafeteria menu,” it states.

But the inspectors reported that a lack of full control over school resources has remained a challenge.

“With restricted access to the school in the evening time, it has become more difficult for the school to make its facilities available to the local community, something which has been a significant cause of concern,” they wrote.

“The process in place to facilitate often simple matters of maintenance or repair can involve a deal of paperwork and sometimes delay which management has little control over.”

The report pointed out that any changes to original specifications, from storage space to phone lines, have been complex and expensive considerations.

“The ICT system is, in so many respects, ‘state-of-the-art’ although management again faces some uncertainty here as the initial contract for supply and maintenance has expired in recent months, with no replacement arrangement in place as yet,” the report said.

It also refers to difficulties in relation to arrangements for ventilation and dust extraction in some rooms and storage or preparation areas for practical subjects.

“While several of these issues may be linked to teething difficulties in any school building and fit-out process, they do collectively present an ongoing challenge for the management of resources within what is otherwise a very well-resourced school building,” the report said.