Limassol’s school board was on Wednesday questioned over its installation of padel courts at schools by the House education committee.

The padel courts are operated by private firms, with the committee requesting that the contracts for their installation and operation be submitted within 15 days, while also expressing concern over the installation of CCTV cameras at the courts by the private firms.

A school board member told the committee that the installation of padel courts “upgrades the facilities for pupils”, saying that children use the courts during the mornings and that the private firms are obliged to grant timeslots for school activities.

Education ministry permanent secretary George Panteli said it is “legitimate” for schools to grant space for further infrastructure to be developed by private firms “so long as this benefits society”.

After the meeting, committee chairman and Diko MP Pavlos Mylonas said there is “interest from many private individuals” to invest in similar projects on school grounds, and that for this reason, “the state needs to find ways to regulate procedures”.

For this reason, he said, the committee will “open a public debate” to “explore the political intentions” on the issue.

Disy MP Giorgos Karoullas said schools’ facilities “should be open to society, serving the needs of school sports and the wider community”.

He did, however, stress the need to “carefully examine” the terms of agreements and contracts.

Meanwhile, Akel MP Andros Kafkalias argued that the developments “primarily serve private investors and not society or schools”.

He said his party “believes that meeting the needs of schools in terms of infrastructure and sports facilities must be the responsibility of the state”, and that as such, the government “must provide the necessary resources”.