PM should show he actually cares: Dipke suggests using PM Cares Fund to improve schools

Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder and national convenor Abhijeet Dipke on Wednesday, August 19 urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to consider using the PM CARES Fund to address infrastructure deficiencies in rural government schools. He said the available funds could potentially be used to build more than 1,000 high-tech model schools.

Dipke, whose party has launched the ‘School Thik Karo’ (improve government schools) campaign to draw attention to shortcomings in rural school infrastructure, said children across the country were in need of basic facilities such as proper roads leading to their schools, benches and drinking water.

According to the latest audit report, the total balance in the Prime Minister's Citizen Assistance and Relief in Emergency Situations (PM CARES) Fund was Rs 8,452 crore as on March 31, 2025, compared with Rs 7,173 crore a year earlier.

Of the total balance, Rs 7,846 crore was kept in fixed deposits and Rs 605 crore in savings bank accounts, the report said.

The fund's total expenditure during 2024-25 was Rs 87.85 lakh, sharply lower than Rs 15.6 crore spent in the previous fiscal.

In a video statement posted on X, Dipke said the money lying in the fund could instead be used to improve schools and provide children with basic facilities.

“On one hand, Rs 8,500 crore is lying unused and on the other hand we see that the children of this country are crying for a good road to school, for good benches in school and for drinking water in school. So, why are we not using this money for the schools of these children?” he said.

He said the amount could also be used to construct new schools, and calculated that more than 1,000 high-tech model schools could be built if around Rs 8 crore were spent on each school.

“Why is this money not being used to build new schools? If we assume that the cost of building a school is approximately Rs 8 crore, a good school with all the facilities, a model school... So, if one school costs Rs 8 crore, then in Rs 8,500 crore, more than 1,000 new high-tech model schools could be built,” Dipke said.

“But this is not happening,” he added.

The CJP founder said his recent visits to government schools in rural parts of Maharashtra had highlighted the poor state of their infrastructure.

“When I asked the authorities why there were no basic facilities here, I was told that there was a shortage of funds,” he said.

Dipke said there appeared to be a contradiction between officials citing a lack of funds for basic school facilities and the amount available in the PM CARES Fund.

“So on one hand, it is being said that there are no funds and on the other hand Rs 8,500 crore is lying in the PM CARES Fund. So, should this money not be used for the schools?” he said.

He appealed to people to urge Prime Minister Modi to utilise the fund for children's education and schools serving poor children.

“So, request the PM to please use the PM CARES Fund for the people, for the education (and) for the schools of the poor kids. And the PM should show that he actually cares,” he said.

Dipke also shared two pictures on X, one showing a dirty toilet and the other a run-down school building, with the message, “PM CARES Fund can be put to good use.”

The PM CARES Fund spent Rs 87.8 lakh on the PM CARES for Children Scheme during 2024-25, the audit report said. The scheme seeks to support children who lost both parents or their legal guardian or adoptive parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. The expenditure under the scheme was down from Rs 15.37 crore in the previous year.

Dipke's remarks came a day after he visited a government school in Kadoli village of his native Hingoli district in Maharashtra as part of the ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign.

He reached the school premises at around 7.30 pm, after school hours, and inspected the campus. A video of his visit and his subsequent interaction with villagers later surfaced on social media.

Describing the school as appearing to be “stuck in the 1960s”, Dipke pointed to an old tin-roofed toilet, broken toilet and classroom doors and the absence of taps in the washrooms.

“It felt as if I was visiting a school in the 1960s. An old tin-roofed toilet, broken doors and no taps in the washrooms. What to do with these washrooms? Those concerned did not do their duty (in maintaining the school premises),” he said.

He also criticised local residents for remaining silent over the condition of the school.

“The villagers are also wrong because they kept quiet,” he said.

Villagers, however, alleged that workers from political parties harass them and threaten to implicate them in cases if anyone speaks out against the poor condition of the school.

Dipke responded by urging collective action, saying it would make it difficult to target individuals.

“If someone raises their voice and an offence is registered, it can happen with one, two or three persons. If the entire village raises its voice, how will the offence be registered?” he said.

He asked the villagers to approach the concerned Block Development Officer and demand that repair work at the school be initiated within 10 days, failing which he warned that his group would launch an agitation.

Earlier on Tuesday, Dipke had also strongly objected to students allegedly being asked to sweep their classroom at a government school in Dhegaj village in Hingoli district.

(With inputs from PTI)