CJP launches ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign, flags gaps in government schools

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) convenor Abhijeet Dipke on Saturday launched the “School Thik Karo” campaign from his native village in Maharashtra's Hingoli district, alleging that government schools continue to struggle with basic facilities and demanding a cap on private school fees.

Dipke launched the campaign after visiting a Zilla Parishad school in Santuk Pimpri, where he alleged that toilets lacked a water supply, windows were broken and there were not enough benches for students.

“If basic things like water are missing from government-run schools even 80 years after India became independent, how is the country going to develop?” Dipke told reporters.

He said the campaign would document basic facilities at government schools through a checklist covering amenities such as water, toilets and infrastructure. The CJP plans to collect data from schools across Maharashtra and eventually expand the exercise nationwide.

Dipke alleged that government schools were being neglected while private schools were benefiting from the situation. He also claimed that more than 94,000 government schools had been shut across India over the past decade.

“How can a nation be strengthened by shutting down schools when more schools need to be opened?” he asked.

He questioned the disparity between government and private schools and said students should have equal access to basic facilities and quality education.

During his inspection of the school, Dipke also claimed that the washroom appeared to have been cleaned shortly before his arrival. He alleged that the school had only four benches for a larger number of students and that broken windows were covered with banners featuring Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

Dipke also demanded a cap on private school fees, saying families were paying between Rs 1 lakh and Rs 1.5 lakh a year and that such costs made education inaccessible to poorer students.

The CJP plans to extend the campaign to government schools in other talukas of Maharashtra and conduct what Dipke described as a social audit of basic infrastructure.

The party also plans to launch a similar campaign highlighting conditions in public hospitals, Dipke said, alleging that patients are forced to wait for surgeries and diagnostic services and, in some cases, sleep on hospital floors.

He said political participation should expand beyond urban centres and urged young people in rural areas to question governments over the use of public funds.

Dipke had earlier called on parents to conduct social audits of government schools and urged village sarpanches to take responsibility for improving basic facilities.