The ministries of Education and Public Works School signed an agreement on Monday, 13 February 2017, whereby the construction of public schools will now be the responsibility of the Ministry of Public Works. In the past, construction of the public schools was carried out by the Office of Supervisory Engineers of State Works (OISOE) of the Presidency.
In recent years, school construction projects have been plagued by cost overruns, delinquent payment to suppliers and contractors, claims by builders of extortion, and poor quality materials and workmanship, as evidenced by major damage suffered by many of the newly constructed schools during the October and November rainstorms.
Signing the agreement for the Ministry of Education was Minister Andrés Navarro and for the Ministry of Public Works, Minister Gonzalo Castillo. OISOE director Francisco Pagan signed for that office.
Most of the school construction projects undertaken in recent years were built to accommodate the extended school day and day care programs.
Government officials said that the new inter-agency school construction agreement seeks to create more efficient, effective and transparent processes for selecting contractors, sourcing materials, overseeing construction sites and managing costs while improving the overall quality of the schools and campuses. The transfer of school construction authority is based on Presidential Decree 348-16.
A spokesperson for the Ministry of Education explained the department would continue to be responsible for purchasing the land where the schools will be built, while the Ministry of Public Works would be responsible for the actual building of the new schools.
Read more in Spanish:
Al Momento
7 Dias
14 February 2017
