Cockroach Janta Party founder and convenor Abhijeet Dipke on Monday wrote to education ministers of all states, seeking data on government school infrastructure, teacher vacancies and funding.
In his letter, Dipke questioned the lack of basic facilities like drinking water and functional classrooms, while urging ministers to “treat the condition of public education as an urgent priority.”
The CJP convenor highlighted the visuals from government schools in the country circulating on social media, saying they should make the citizens “deeply concerned.” He questioned how the children would “study in such conditions”, while claiming that they were being “treated worse than animals.”
“How can we expect our country to progress when children are still struggling for the most basic facilities required to get an education?” he questioned, urging state governments across the country to “improve our schools on a war footing.”
{{/usCountry}}“How can we expect our country to progress when children are still struggling for the most basic facilities required to get an education?” he questioned, urging state governments across the country to “improve our schools on a war footing.”
{{/usCountry}}The CJP, following the recent student protesters over alleged irregularities in NEET which led to the resignation of union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, is now focusing its campaign on government schools. The organisation launched the ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign earlier this month, with CJP teams visiting and conducting audits in schools in different states.
Dipke seeks state-wise data in questionnaire for ministers
Dipke underscored that it had been “80 years since India gained Independence”, but children in many govemment schools still did not have “safe drinking water, functional washrooms, proper classrooms, or even something as basic as benches to sit on.”
“But before we can fix the problem, the people deserve to know where we stand today. Therefore, I respectfully request your ministry to publicly provide the following information,” he said in the letter.
In his questionnaire for the state education ministers, Dipke sought data on:
📌How many government schools in the state have been renovated in the last five years, and how many currently require repairs or complete renovation?
📌How many teaching positions are currently sanctioned, how many are filled, and how many remain vacant?
📌How much money has been allocated for government schools in the last five years, and how much of it has actually been spent?
📌How many additional government schools are required to ensure that every child has reasonable access to quality education?
📌Apart from teaching, what non-teaching duties and responsibilities are assigned to government school teachers?
📌How many government schools currently have adequate access to computers and digital learning facilities, clean and functional toilets, and proper sports facilities and equipment for children?
The CJP convenor said the campaign was 'not about politics or any one government", but was focused on the “future of our children.”
“Every child, irrespective of where they are born or how much their parents earn, deserves a safe classroom, clean drinking water, a functional washroom, a bench to sit on, and a teacher to teach them,” he said, while urging the state education ministries to make information on the above questions public. He further called on the state governments to “take urgent steps to ensure that no child is denied a dignified education because of inadequate infrastructure.”