Bermuda could in future see school janitors trained in Do It Yourself maintenance to enable principals to get small repairs completed quickly, instead of having to wait their turn on an Education Ministry priority list.

Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott last night said the suggestion by the Bermuda Union of Teachers (BUT) was "excellent" and said he may put the idea to Cabinet and Education Minister Sen. Milton Scott.

General Secretary of the BUT Mike Charles made the suggestion after complaining that schools sometimes had to wait too long to get simple maintenance work done.

But he said if janitors were skilled in DIY, simple leaks, breakages and repairs could be carried out almost immediately, or at the very least, temporarily improved until more permanent work was carried out.

Mr. Charles said: "Health and safety is a pressing issue in schools.

"Some principals have complained to me that it takes an awful long time to get things done and that concerns me a great deal.

"They can wait the longest time for the simplest of things, and if the school is nearing some major renovations then it simply does not happen.

"My worry is about the continued safety of schools and accidents can happen," he said.

"For example, I know that Dellwood Middle School had a leaking roof and made several complaints, but it seemed to take quite some time before something was eventually done last week.

"If floors get wet, then they get slippery and it becomes dangerous."

Mr. Charles suggested that either janitors become skilled in DIY, or that the Works and Engineering Ministry devote a team of maintenance men to work on nothing else but schools.

He said: "Janitors in schools should be people who can do the plumbing and carpentry.

"It would save an enormous amount of time and money if janitors were people who were skilled enough to do the small jobs," he explained.

"If it is a big job, they could patch it up until something more permanent comes along.

"At the moment, janitors won't do it because their job is to clean and watch over the school, but it could be much more.

"Or perhaps the Works and Engineering or Education departments should think about having a team of people who only devote their time to school maintenance and nothing else.

"Believe me, there will certainly be enough work for them."

Mr. Charles said regular complaints he received from schools related to the quality of water, the quality of air in classrooms, and problems with mosquitoes, especially schools near marsh land, such as Dellwood and Spice Valley Middle School.

But he said schools regularly needed attention for general maintenance.

Last night, Works and Engineering Minister Alex Scott said schools were on a cycle and were given deliberate attention every four years.

He said: "Every summer the maintenance programme is advanced. It's on a four-year cycle, meaning that if we do a school in 2000, we will be back in 2004. There are, however, special requests from time to time. But as we maintain, we also upgrade.

"If schools have particular needs, they would have to just put in a request to the Education Department, not to us. And then, education would prioritise it, and then present it to us.

"Obviously, if it's serious, it would have to be addressed immediately. If it's a nuisance then education would decide that it's a nuisance and put a priority on it. If it's not, then it would get a lower priority. Education prioritises in consultation with ourselves.

"But once given the task, we are able to do it very quickly - in days."

One head teacher, who did not wish to be named, suggested school boards be given the autonomy to look after their own maintenance budgets, like aided schools do.

They said: "It would be nice to call a plumber just when we needed one. Sometimes I know it can be a problem having to wait."

But while ruling out that option, Mr. Scott said he did like the idea of having skilled janitors.

He said: "Putting schools in charge of their own budgets would be disastrous. Schools would decide they did not like the colour of the walls and so would change it. It would be the whim of the school and not the need.

"It does not mean they are deprived because they are not in charge of their budget.

"But (skilled) janitors is something certainly worth considering. I don't know if there's a janitors' union we would have to negotiate with, but it's a very practical idea and excellent to my way of thinking."

He said he realised that the suggestion could not be implemented overnight, and natural attrition would have to run it's course, but said it was a workable idea a few years down the line, and one possibility would be to train up the janitors.

"It would ultimately be the responsibility of education, but it is something I could share with them. I could certainly put it to the education minister."

The Royal Gazette was unable to contact Sen. Milton Scott last night.