Pune: Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has announced a nationwide campaign to improve government schools in villages, with the initiative
set to begin on August 15. The campaign will focus on checking basic facilities and encouraging local leaders to take responsibility for improving rural schools.
Dipke said the programme would begin from his village Hingoli in Maharashtra, where he plans to approach the village head and seek improvements in government schools.
Focus on rural education
This Independence Day, let’s pledge to improve the Govt Schools in our villages. pic.twitter.com/fZyRrmoNhu
— Abhijeet Dipke (@abhijeet_dipke) August 10, 2026
“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.
“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.
“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.
He questioned why resources had been used for major infrastructure projects while many village schools continued to lack basic amenities.
“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,” Dipke said.
Parents asked to audit facilities
As part of the campaign, parents whose children attend government schools will be encouraged to conduct social audits. They will be asked to check whether schools have electricity, clean drinking water, working toilets and mid-day meals.
Parents will also be encouraged to record videos if basic facilities are missing. The CJP said it plans to provide a printable audit form that citizens can use to record the facilities available at their local schools.
The organisation said the completed forms and video evidence would be collected as part of the nationwide campaign.
‘Sarpanch Challenge’ announced
The CJP has also appealed to sarpanches across the country to take up responsibility for upgrading government schools in their villages.
The initiative, described as a “Sarpanch Challenge”, will publicly recognise village heads who improve their schools. The organisation plans to share before-and-after photographs of upgraded schools 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 campaign comes after the CJP decided to continue functioning as a youth movement rather than enter electoral politics. The group, which began as an online satirical platform, had earlier staged a 36-day protest at Jantar Mantar over alleged NEET exam irregularities.
CJP earlier announced a “Kya Bolti Public?” campaign for nationwide outreach.
Dipke had earlier urged PM Modi to use his Independence Day address to speak to the country’s youth.
Dipke ended his campaign message with an appeal for collective action, saying, “Let us all make a promise to the children who live in villages that we will improve their schools. Together, we can do this.”
