A ‘new’ Parliament, a ‘new’ PM’s residence, but no ‘new’ village schools 

A ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign is set to be launched by the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), which currently describes itself as a pressure group. The social media sensation, which came into being only in May, successfully spearheaded the youth protest at Jantar Mantar and secured the resignation of former Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan on 25 July over successive exam paper leaks.

Its fresh campaign to improve rural schools has already struck a chord with students across the country and promises to initiate another imaginative and productive mass movement.

"School Thik Karo! Children in villages shouldn’t have to plead for basic facilities in their schools after 80 years of Independence. As a country, we have failed rural children in the worst possible way. This Independence Day, CJP will launch the ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign to improve government schools in villages," announced the group’s founder-president Abhijeet Dipke in a social media post. In a video statement, he lamented that sufficient attention had not been paid to village schools in recent years.

School buildings are often old, dilapidated and even unsafe. Many lack drinking water and toilet facilities, while some do not have enough teachers. Midday meals are either not served or are irregular and, when served, are often of poor quality.

Referring to a report from Solapur, Maharashtra, where a concrete slab fell in a school and injured 13 children, Dipke said: "This is the state of schools where underprivileged children study. You won’t see this happening in schools where politicians’ children study. Are the lives of these children any less valuable than those of politicians’?"

Since the campaign was announced, several videos have surfaced from Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh showing school students demanding better facilities. In one, children are heard demanding a school bus because their school is seven kilometres away and they are forced to walk 14 km every day. "When simply reaching school becomes a daily hardship, what hope are we giving these children for their future?" Dipke said.

Posting another video of schoolgirls entering the collectorate in Hamirpur, Uttar Pradesh, demanding an audience with the district magistrate, Dipke wrote: 'Salute to these children who are fighting for their future! All they are asking for is a road to their school. Is that too much to ask after nearly 80 years of Independence? This should have been done decades ago. This 15th August, let’s pledge to work for the children and schools of rural India.'

"We are prioritising the issue of education starting from Independence Day. We are urging parents and citizens to visit their government schools, conduct a social audit, record the conditions there, bring the reality to light, and help fix it. The youth are taking responsibility," he told the media in New Delhi on Wednesday, 12 August.

The CJP is seeking to turn the campaign into another social media movement by asking village heads and parents to upload videos documenting the condition of government schools. Dipke himself will meet the sarpanch (head) of his village in Maharashtra on Independence Day to discuss ways of improving the local school. He has called on others to do the same.