FOLLOWING the deaths of 26 children and one teacher when their school collapsed in the earthquake which rocked the south of Italy last week, the finger of blame is pointing in many directions.

An investigating magistrate has been appointed to shed light on the disaster at the 150-pupil Francesco Jovine elementary and middle school at San Giuliano di Puglia and bring those guilty - if any - to justice. Key questions unanswered include:

* Why didn’t the mayor of San Giuliano di Puglia, whose daughter Valentina was killed in the disaster, close the school after the first tremors were felt during the night and a radio broadcast at 7am identified the village as the epicentre of the approaching earthquake?

* Who approved the plans for the two extra classrooms built into the roof last year, the weight of which may have been a factor in thecollapse?

* Why was the area of San Giuliano considered not to be at risk, in spite of a survey completed in 1998 which suggested otherwise?

Attention is also focusing on the failure of successive governments to ensure anti-earthquake measures - introduced in the wake of the 1980 earthquake which left 3,000 people dead in the Naples area were implemented. The final date for making school buildings secure has been put back five times because of a lack of funds. Primary schools, like the one in San Giuliano, are maintained by cash-strapped local boroughs (comuni).

Enzo Boschi, president of the National Institute of Geophysics, believes it is almost impossible to apportion blame: “I still have not understood which powers have been moved from the state to the regions, and which have gone back under the Protezione Civile (the emergency department of the Ministry of the Interior),” he said.

“But legislation isn’t enough: what is needed are appropriate building skills: often a low-cost solution such as an iron ring encompassing the whole structure can be effective.”

Following the tragedy, a number of recent reports focusing on the earthquake risk to schools have come to light. The environmental organisation Legambiente claims that 25 per cent of schools in seismic zones are in urgent need of repair, while the consumer organisation Codacons believes that 70 per cent of all schools are unsafe.

Equally alarming are reports that many schools do not carry out regular earthquake drills. The actions of one teacher in San Giuliano, Clementina Simone, may have helped save the lives of the only three survivors of her 12-strong class. “As soon as I realised what was happening I yelled, ‘Everyone get under the ...’ I didn’t have time to finish the sentence,” she said.

Visiting the scene of the earthquake, Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi promised a new San Giuliano with “green spaces, parks, and innovative housing”, within two years. But many grieving villagers feel uncomfortable with this. One said: “The school was the village. How can you rebuild something that isn’t there any more?”