He calls for the revival of the Attakulangara school campus

A view of Central High School, Attakulangara in Thiruvananthapuram on Wednesday. | Photo credit: NIRMAL HARINDRAN / THE HINDU

Following the collapse of the roof of a heritage-listed building on the premises of Central High School in Attakulangara and the ensuing blame game over the negligence that led to the incident, demands are mounting to improve the standards of the school and revive its sprawling and green campus.

Located in the heart of the city, the 137-year-old school is no stranger to change or challenges. While she managed to prevent her land from being zoned for a bus bay more than a decade ago, she hasn’t met with similar success in keeping herself from forgetting.

Achuthsankar S. Nair, an academic and history buff, says that to prevent the buildings of the school campus from falling into disuse and neglect, he proposed to air-condition two buildings and shift rare books found in old school libraries in schools in Thiruvananthapuram to these structures for setting up a history library. However, the proposal could not be implemented.

Mr. Achuthsankar says that to prevent further neglect of the sprawling school grounds, it could be converted into a secondary educational facility where every child could come to play sports, play games or learn arts and crafts during out-of-school hours and on weekends under the watchful eye of government-appointed teachers. This would give children, especially those in the neighborhood, an opportunity to have fun and relax.

He is not in favor of spending more money to renovate and renovate the building, instead suggesting keeping part of it as a model and creating open spaces that will attract children. Another idea could be to tear down a compound wall and turn the space into a huge square, says Mr Nair.

Shaji Krishnan of the Thiruvananthapuram branch of INTACH (Indian National Trust for Art and Cultural Heritage), which in a report to the government expressed reservations about the work done to preserve the heritage structure on the school campus a decade ago, also notes that the campus here is not alive unlike many other schools.

Although there was some interest in the school for a few years after the LDF government scrapped the bus bay proposal, it soon dwindled. The school and campus were part of the heritage zone and should be preserved as such, says Mr Krishnan.

An unsafe building can be repaired, but it is crucial for the school to maintain good capacity and educational standards.

Both the government and the city corporation should make sincere efforts to protect the school, says Mr. Krishnan, adding that he plans to meet the mayor soon.

Saji Kumar, an alumnus and then general secretary of the school’s protection committee, says the school has less than 100 students. A higher secondary section should be allowed to give it a new lease of life. The school should also be developed as a cultural center where people can gather in the evening. He expresses concern that if things continue as they are, the school grounds will disappear.

Published – 03 Jun 2026 22:47 IST