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Govt school repairs, teacher vacancies, digital access: CJP poses 6 key questions to education ministers
Abhijeet Dipke said that even after 80 years of independence, government schools in India lack access to safe drinking water, functional washrooms.
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Cockroach Janta Party founder and convenor Abhijeet Dipke on Monday wrote an open letter to the education ministers of all states, asking them to answer basic questions regarding the condition of government schools in India.
In his letter, Dipke said that even after 80 years of independence, government schools in India lack access to safe drinking water, functional washrooms, proper classrooms and even something as “basic” as benches.
“How can we expect our country to progress when children are still struggling for the most basic facilities required to get an education?”
He urged the ministers to treat the condition of public education as an “urgent priority” and work to improve schools on a war footing. However, he said that before any work could begin, people deserve to know where India stands today, and laid out six questions.
- 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 to 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?
Dipke stressed that it is not about politics or government, but the future of the children. He said that every student deserves a safe classroom, access to clean drinking water, functional toilets, benches and a teacher to teach them, irrespective of where they are born or financial status.
“We hope your ministry will make this information public and take urgent steps to ensure that no child is denied a dignified education because of inadequate infrastructure,” the letter read.
‘School Thik Karo’ campaign
This outreach comes amid the ongoing CJP ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign, in which leaders and volunteers of the outfit visit government schools across the country to inspect their condition.
The initiative was launched on August 15, with Dipke kicking off the campaign by visiting a government school in his native village of Santuk Pimpri in Maharashtra’s Hingoli district.
However, CJP continues to face challenges as the campaign gains momentum. From facing attacks to being denied entry to schools, the outfit says its leaders and volunteers will continue to inspect government schools across the country.
CJP’s peaceful march
CJP on Monday also announced that it will hold a peaceful march from India Gate to Delhi Police headquarters on September 5 over the government’s failure to honour its July 25 commitments.
The march will be led by families of deceased NEET victims and victims of alleged police brutality during the July 20 ‘Sansad Chalao’ march.
In a statement released after a key meeting, the outfit accused the government of committing “vishwasghaat” with students and protestors and said that the government was “playing games” and avoiding giving clear commitments instead of implementing what was promised on July 25.
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CJP alleged that the Central government failed to fulfil commitments made to the country’s youth, including assurances regarding the withdrawal or quashing of FIRs registered against students and protesters, as well as compensation for the families of deceased NEET victims.
It said the young generation had trusted the promises made by the government on July 25 and that it had withdrawn its nationwide movement in good faith.
“A government cannot take the trust of an entire generation, use it to send them home, and then quietly retreat from its own word. We will not accept this attempted betrayal.”
CJP called on young Indians, students, youth and student organisations to gather at India Gate on September 5 and peacefully march with it.
