SDLP MLA Cara Hunter described it as a warning that “should be a wake-up call for the Executive”
Stock image of a computer IT suite in a school
Deterioration and an £800 million maintenance backlog could see schools forced to close if not addressed, the Education Authority (EA) has warned.
The body, which is responsible for more than 1,100 schools across Northern Ireland, said there has been a shortfall in funding for maintenance for many years.
A critical report from the Stormont Public Accounts Committee (PAC) last October found that many schools are in a state of disrepair, describing the situation as “unsafe” with an £800 million bill for outstanding repairs and maintenance.
On Wednesday, the EA warned that, if not addressed, the position could soon be reached where “schools, or part of schools, routinely need to close due to unaddressed maintenance issues”.
Education Minister Paul Givan has spoken about his department, which funds the EA, facing a “severe funding crisis”.
On Wednesday the EA said industry standards suggest some £92 million is the annual minimum spend to maintain its school estate.
But in 2025/26 its maintenance budget provided for total maintenance spend was £61.1 million.
Maintenance includes cyclical actions to prevent more significant issues developing, as well as reactive response maintenance, statutory compliance maintenance and planned maintenance, such as roof upgrades and structural works.
The EA said that no funding has been available for cyclical maintenance across the school estate “for many years”, leading to deterioration.
“The absence of funding for cyclical maintenance, and the shortfall in funding for reactive and planned maintenance, inevitably leads to a growing backlog of work year on year, and to long-term deterioration of the school estate,” it said.
“It also means the risk of school closures on safety grounds will continue to grow.
“We will soon reach the position where schools, or part of schools, routinely need to close due to unaddressed maintenance issues.”
The EA has estimated that the school maintenance backlog is now between £600 million and £800 million.
“This was confirmed by an Assembly Public Accounts Committee report last October,” it said.
“This will continue to grow each year, unless our maintenance budget is increased to circa £90 million – and it is only with annual funding above that level that we will be able to start addressing the backlog.”
SDLP MLA Cara Hunter described it as a warning that “should be a wake-up call for the Executive”.
“This report, the revelation of a school maintenance backlog of more than £600 million and the warning that schools could face closure due to a failure to carry out repairs should set alarm bells ringing across the Executive,” she said.
“We have already seen schools forced to close parts of their buildings and, in some instances, close altogether. Portacabins have become part of daily life in far too many schools.
“What were intended as temporary measures have become a long-term reality because schools cannot get the investment they need. That has a real impact on pupils’ educational experience and on the wider school community.
“The minister and Executive must now set out how they intend to address this growing crisis and prevent our school estate from crumbling before our eyes.”
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