Nagpur: Abhijit Deepke, founder of the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP), has questioned governments regarding the poor condition of tribal schools and administrative apathy across the country. Speaking to the media in Nagpur, he alleged that the tribal education system has been significantly neglected for decades.
Deepke announced that the CJP would launch the ‘Fix Tribal Schools’ campaign starting September 17 from the Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. He stated that the campaign aims to highlight issues such as the educational rights of tribal students, the lack of basic amenities, and the challenges they face before the administration.
He mentioned that under this campaign, party representatives would visit schools in tribal-dominated areas to assess the ground reality of the available infrastructure. Previously, the organization had conducted a ‘Fix Schools’ campaign to improve the condition of government schools.
Questioning the priorities of political parties, Deepke remarked that parties spend huge sums on constructing their own offices, yet claim there is insufficient budget for tribal residential schools.
He also questioned claims regarding the country's economic progress, asserting that the benefits of development must reach the tribal community. Deepke claimed that over 590 tribal students had died in Maharashtra in the last two years, noting that these incidents included cases of snakebites. Additionally, he claimed that more than 30 children had died in Balaghat, Madhya Pradesh, over the past two months.
Deepke also criticized governments regarding compensation. He alleged that instead of providing adequate financial assistance and dignity to affected families, some states attempted to settle matters by offering only limited aid.
According to the CJP founder, out of the 720 sanctioned Eklavya Model Residential Schools in the country, 477 remain closed. He claimed that the education of a large number of tribal children is being affected by this. He also raised questions regarding the enrollment of tribal students in higher education and the admission of ST students into premier institutions like the IITs.
Deepke stated that there is a need to seriously examine the reasons behind the low representation of tribal students and teachers in these institutions. Linking this to the structural inequalities present in the education system, he demanded that the government take concrete steps to improve the situation.
