MUMBAI: Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke launched the ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign from his ancestral village Santuk Pimpri, in Hingoli district, on Saturday, calling attention government’s neglect of state-run schools and alleging that students from underprivileged families were bearing the brunt even after 80 years of independence.
Apart from this, he also demanded a cap on private school fees and announced that his outfit would launch a similar campaign against the poor condition of public hospitals. He has urged parents to inspect schools in their villages, assess the availability of basic infrastructure and record videos highlighting deficiencies. He has asked them to submit the videos, along with details of the shortcomings, to CJP for follow-up.
Dipke announced the state-wide ‘School Thik Karo’ on August 10 to audit government-run schools in rural areas.
In one of the videos, Dipke showed a broken window at the government school covered with banners featuring deputy chief minister Eknath Shinde. He also showed the condition of the toilets and questioned whether such facilities were fit for children. Another video showed him sitting among schoolchildren, asking them about the problems they faced and noting down their responses.
“How is any kid supposed to use this toilet?” he asked, showing a commode covered with dirt and garbage. He said he had spoken to the village sarpanch, who assured him that the issues would be addressed at the earliest. “The sarpanch of my village has assured that the gram panchayat will resolve all these issues within a week,” he said, adding, “Change is possible when we come together and act.”
