The Teachers Union of Ireland has expressed concerns about the way in which five schools built under public private partnerships (PPPs) are being operated. John Downes reports.
The schools, located in Cork, Sligo, Monaghan and Clare, were built as part of a pilot programme under which the Department of Education and Science pay a private operator, Jarvis Projects Ltd, to build and maintain schools in return for a annual fee of some €10 million. The buildings then revert to public ownership after a period of 25 years.
An editorial contained in the latest edition of the union's newsletter, the TUI News, states that while most of the schools in question were built ahead of schedule, there were "some concerns" expressed by TUI members about the way in which the schools are being run.
However, while it has admitted there have been some "teething problems", it has strongly rejected the TUI's claims. Among the complaints dealt with by the TUI, according to the editorial, are:
r concerns about the quality of some equipment in schools and delays in the supply of equipment of the appropriate specifications
r the hiring of the school for other purposes after traditional school opening hours
r the cumbersome method of reporting problems to the operator (Jarvis)
r inaccessibility of the operator when called upon to deal with problems.
Mr John Mac Gabhann of the TUI said that although some of the issues, such as the replacement of lathes used in metalwork and woodwork classes, had been resolved by Jarvis, his members were still unhappy about the speed with which it dealt with problems.
"There were genuine frustrations among our members in some of the schools concerned Getting a telephone answered doesn't produce a result in a sufficient amount of time," he said.
"We are neither for or against public private partnerships. But Jarvis are in the business of making a profit. If you are still waiting one year on for equipment, it becomes a big problem.
"We would be delighted to think that things are improving. And our most recent evidence suggest that Jarvis are beginning to respond better."
Mr John Farrell of Jarvis Projects Ltd said that where there were some initial problems Jarvis had shown its good faith in replacing equipment deemed to be unsuitable. He rejected the suggestion that the company had been unresponsive, and pointed out that a helpdesk was available to schools from 8a.m. to 6p.m. from Monday to Friday.