CJP's 'Sarpanch Challenge' aims to improve government schools in villages

NEW DELHI: The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), a political outfit, has announced a nationwide campaign to improve government schools in villages. Founder Abhijeet Dipke said the drive will be launched on August 15, India's 80th Independence Day, with an appeal to citizens, parents and village heads to work together to upgrade basic facilities in rural schools.

Dipke said he would start the initiative from his native village in Hingoli district of Maharashtra by approaching the local sarpanch and requesting him to take steps to improve the government school there. He questioned the prioritisation of infrastructure projects over rural education.

"We have made a new Parliament, a new PM house. Why have we not been able to build new schools in our villages? Do we not consider the children of farmers and labourers the future of our country?" he asked.

Dipke highlighted the persistent difficulties faced by village children, including long distances to school and the absence of basic amenities such as drinking water and toilets. He noted that girls are particularly affected by the lack of sanitation facilities.

Under the campaign, named the "Sarpanch Challenge", the CJP has appealed to village heads across the country to take up the task of improving government schools in their respective areas. The organisation plans to publicly recognise sarpanches who successfully improve their schools by sharing before-and-after photographs on its social media platforms.

"We will give you credit so that after seeing you, after seeing the schools that you have improved, many other village heads also start improving schools in their villages," Dipke said.

The CJP has also called for a citizen-led social audit of government schools. Parents whose children study in these schools have been urged to visit the institutions and check for electricity, clean drinking water, functional washrooms and mid-day meals. If basic facilities are found missing, parents are encouraged to record videos as evidence.

The party said it would soon release a printable audit form, available through links on its official social media platforms, to help citizens document the facilities present and absent at their children's schools. Completed forms and video evidence can be emailed to the organisation.

Dipke said the campaign seeks to ensure that children of farmers and wage labourers studying in village schools have access to facilities comparable to those available in urban schools. "If not, you make videos of it. Because your children's schooling should be good. That is your fundamental right," he said.

Concluding his appeal, Dipke said, "Let us all make a promise to the children who live in villages that we will improve their schools. Together, we can do this." He added that "real India lives in villages". The campaign is set to begin from his village in Hingoli, with the party urging sarpanches nationwide to join the challenge.