The roof of a structure that housed the district project office of the Samagra Shiksha Kerala (SSK) on the campus of Central High School, Attakulangara, in the State capital came crashing down on Monday evening. No casualties were reported in the accident on Pravesanotsavam day.

The students attend classes in a concrete structure away from this structure whose roof came down.

The staff of the SSK district project office narrowly escaped when the roof collapsed around 5.15 p.m., shortly after they had stepped outside.

The SSK district project office shifted from Government High School, Chala, to Attakulangara a year ago. At that time, the General Education department sanctioned maintenance of the structure which was handed over to Kerala Artisans Development Corporation Ltd. Accordingly, the structure was cleaned, painted, and cabins set up for the purposes of an office. Some leaking roof tiles had also been replaced then.

After the roof caved in, Minister for General Education N. Samsudheen said fitness should have been obtained for the structure since an office functioned there, but he had been told by the Deputy Director of Education (DDE) that permission for work on the roof could not be obtained since it was a heritage structure. “If renovation had not been allowed, the office should not have functioned there. A report has been sought from DDE. It’s a relief that it was not a school building,” Mr. Samsudheen said.

The collapse of the roof led to a blame game between the Left Democratic Front which till recently was in power and the Bharatiya Janata Party that is ruling the city Corporation.

Corporation Education standing committee chairperson Chempazhanthy Udayan said the school was 100 m away from the affected structure. If the SSK district project officer had reported the structure’s weakness and applied for a fitness certificate, it would have been granted, as such certificates are typically issued to ensure student safety.

Mr. Udayan said the building had been last renovated in 2019.

Former Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty said the city Corporation was responsible for the accident since it was responsible for issuing fitness certificates. “Fitness certificate is issued after inspecting not only school buildings, but other structures within the compound that could pose a danger to students, be it a wall or well or something else.”