The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) will launch a campaign focused on improving facilities at tribal schools from Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli district on September 17, founder Abhijeet Dipke said on Wednesday.
The initiative, titled “Adivasi School Thik Karo”, will focus on problems faced by students in tribal regions, including inadequate infrastructure and limited access to educational facilities.
Speaking at a press conference, Dipke alleged that tribal schools had been neglected by successive governments and said CJP representatives would visit schools to assess their infrastructure and facilities.
{{/usCountry}}Speaking at a press conference, Dipke alleged that tribal schools had been neglected by successive governments and said CJP representatives would visit schools to assess their infrastructure and facilities.
{{/usCountry}}“Schools in tribal regions across India have been neglected by all governments in the last 80 years,” Dipke said, announcing the campaign from Gadchiroli.
What will the campaign focus on?
CJP representatives will inspect tribal schools and highlight issues affecting students. Dipke raised concerns over schools operating from rented buildings, inadequate facilities and the lack of attention to students in tribal belts.
Dipke also alleged that more than 590 tribal students had died in Maharashtra over the last two years. He claimed that several deaths were linked to incidents such as snakebites and said the families of deceased students did not always receive adequate compensation.
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Dipke further raised concerns about Eklavya Model Residential Schools, alleging that 477 of the 720 schools were non-functional. These figures were presented by Dipke at the press conference.
He also cited concerns over the participation of tribal students in higher education, claiming that Scheduled Tribe students accounted for 22.8% of enrolment in higher education and that only 130 ST applicants had secured admission to IITs.
CJP’s wider school campaign
The new initiative comes a month after CJP launched its nationwide “School Thik Karo” campaign to improve government schools in rural and urban areas.
Dipke had urged parents, sarpanches and local communities to take responsibility for improving basic school facilities. The campaign began with a visit to a government school in his native village of Santuk Pimpri in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district.
CJP had also sought information from state education ministers on school repairs, teacher vacancies, government funding, digital learning facilities, toilets and sports infrastructure.
In an earlier letter, Dipke said government schools continued to lack basic facilities such as safe drinking water, functional washrooms, proper classrooms and benches, HT reported.
The Gadchiroli campaign will focus specifically on tribal schools and students. Dipke is also scheduled to interact with tribal students in Nagpur later on Wednesday.