The government has dismissed the manager of Thevalakkara Boys High School, in Kollam district and entrusted the District Education Officer (DEO) with the school’s administration. A Class VIII student had died owing to electrocution from an overhead power line inside the school on July 17, 2025.

Minister for General Education V. Sivankutty told mediapersons in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday (July 26, 2025) that a report of Director of General Education (DGE) Shanavas S. had found grave dereliction of duty on the part of the manager R. Thulasidharan Pillai.

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Earlier, the school headmistress Suja S. had been suspended from service after the Kollam Assistant Education Officer (AEO) visited the school and found lapses on her part in ensuring safety of the students.

Mr. Sivankutty said the government could take over the school’s management as per Section 14 of the Kerala Education Act, 1958, if it appeared that the manager had neglected to perform his duties. The school management, particularly the manager, had failed to ensure student safety as part of school reopening arrangements. The death of Midhun from electrocution was prima facie the result of lapses on the part of the manager in discharging his responsibilities as per Kerala Education Rules (KER) Chapter III Section 9.

Accordingly, the manager had been issued a show-cause notice by the Kollam AEO as per KER Chapter III Section 7. His reply stated that there had been no deliberate lapses on his part in ensuring students’ safety and that he had tried to discharge his duties properly. However, the manager’s reply was found to be unsatisfactory and he was deemed unfit to hold the post of manager of Thevalakkara boys and girls high school. “The Kollam DEO would act as the manager for the smooth administration of the school till a new appointment was made,” Mr. Sivankutty said.