The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) is taking its campaign to India’s villages with a new push to fix government schools. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke has announced the nationwide “School Thik Karo” campaign, urging parents to conduct social audits of basic facilities and sarpanches to take responsibility for improving rural schools.
In a video message, said he would launch the initiative from his village Hingoli in Maharashtra by approaching the village head with the request of improving the government schools there.
“The coming 15th August is our 80th Independence Day. But, if anything has been neglected or ignored the most in the last 80 years, it is the government schools in our villages,” Dipke said.
“We have made a new Parliament, a new PM house. Why have we not been able to build new schools in our villages? Do we not consider the children of farmers and labourers the future of our country?” he asked.
“Even today, village children have to walk a long distance to go to school. After going there, they don’t find water or toilet facilities,” he said, highlighting the difficulties faced by girls in particular.
“I feel that on this 15th August, if we should pay attention to anything, if we should make a new start, we should start by improving our government schools,” he said.
As part of the campaign, the CJP has issued an appeal to sarpanches across the country to improve government schools in their respective villages.
The organisation has described it as a “Sarpanch Challenge”, under which the CJP would publicly recognise village heads who improve their schools by sharing before-and-after photographs on its social media platforms, giving credit to the sarpanches concerned.
“We will give you credit so that after seeing you, after seeing the schools that you have improved, many other village heads also start improving schools in their villages,” Dipke said.
CJP calls for social audit of government schools
The CJP statement also announced a citizen-led social audit of government schools.
Parents whose children study in government schools have been asked to visit the institutions and check the availability of electricity, clean drinking water, functional washrooms and mid-day meals.
“You go to your children’s schools and see if basic facilities are available. See if there is electricity, water… Do your children get washroom facilities? Do they get mid-day meals?” Dipke said, urging the parents to record videos if the facilities are not available.
The CJP also said that it will soon issue a printable audit form through which citizens can record the facilities available and those missing in their children’s schools.
The form will be shared through a link on the campaign videos on the CJP’s official social media platforms. Completed forms and video evidence can be emailed to [email protected].
It said the campaign seeks to ensure that children of farmers and wage labourers studying in village schools have access to facilities comparable to those available to children in cities.
“If not, you make videos of it. Because your children’s schooling should be good. That is your fundamental right,” Dipke said.
“Let us all make a promise to the children who live in villages that we will improve their schools. Together, we can do this,” he said, concluding the video with the message “Real India lives in villages”.