'New PM house, why not new govt schools in villages?' Dipke announces nationwide drive

Published 11 August 2026 · local

CJP announces nationwide campaign to improve government schools on August 15. The ‘Sarpanch Challenge’ CJP backs Jharkhand protests Join conversation View All Comments → Share

CJP announces nationwide campaign to improve government schools on August 15. The ‘Sarpanch Challenge’ CJP backs Jharkhand protests Join conversation View All Comments → Share your thoughts in the comments Insightful Agree Disagree Skeptical Concerning Promising Worth Reading Big Development Post Comment Be respectful · TOI community guidelines NEW DELHI: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has announced a nationwide campaign to improve government schools in villages, seeking to address the "neglect of rural educational infrastructure".The campaign will be launched on August 15, with the CJP calling on citizens, parents and village leaders to work together to improve basic facilities in government schools.Dipke said he would launch the initiative from his village in Hingoli, Maharashtra, by approaching the village head and requesting him to take steps to improve government schools there.“The coming 15th August is our 80th Independence Day. But, if anything has been neglected or ignored the most in the last 80 years, it is the government schools in our villages,” Dipke said on Monday.“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 said children in villages continue to face difficulties in accessing schools and basic facilities such as drinking water and toilets.“Even today, village children have to walk a long distance to go to school.

After going there, they don’t find water or toilet facilities,” he said, highlighting the difficulties faced by girls in particular.“I feel that on this 15th August, if we should pay attention to anything, if we should make a new start, we should start by improving our government schools,” he said.As part of the campaign, the CJP has appealed to sarpanches across the country to take up the task of improving government schools in their respective villages.Dipke said he would personally approach the village head in Hingoli and urged other sarpanches to do the same in their villages.The organisation has termed the initiative the “Sarpanch Challenge”, under which it plans to publicly recognise village heads who improve their schools by sharing before-and-after photographs on its social media platforms and giving credit to the sarpanches concerned.“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 government schools have been asked to visit the institutions and check basic facilities, including electricity, clean drinking water, functional washrooms and mid-day meals.“You go to your children's schools and see if basic facilities are available.