CJP's Dipke urges politicians to send their kids to village schools for a day to know rural students' plight

Key points

• Children in remote areas are often forced to walk 7 to 10 kilometres to reach schools, particularly during the monsoon…
• Referring to recent student fatalities in tribal residential schools, he noted that one student had died in Melghat in Amravati…
• "Will these ministers send their own children to school walking like the children of villagers?" Dipke asked while talking to…
• Dipke said he had chosen to hold the protest in Hingoli as he had personally seen his siblings walking to…

CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke on Tuesday said ministers and politicians should have their children attend village schools for at least a day to understand the hardships faced by rural students who are forced to walk a number of kilometres to get access to education.

During a protest in Hingoli over school-related issues, he criticised the Maharashtra administration for failing to provide basic transport for rural schoolchildren, saying leaders could arrange buses and trains for election rallies but were unable to provide even a single bus for poor students.

While core worries such as education and employment remain unaddressed, dipke, who last week launched the ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign from his native village in Hingoli district, maintained that over the past decade, political debate divided people along caste and religious lines.

Children in remote areas are often forced to walk 7 to 10 kilometres to reach schools, particularly during the monsoon when roads become muddy and waterlogged, the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) convenor noted.

What happened

“Will these ministers send their own children to school walking like the children of villagers?” Dipke asked while talking to reporters.

“Ministers, MLAs and MPs should send their children to village schools for one day and make them walk to school like village children. Then they will understand what these children have to face,” he said.

Dipke said the administration is responsible for ensuring that such things do not recur and vowed to continue his fight for tribal and poor children.

“The life of a tribal child should have the same value as the life of a minister’s child. The life of that child is not worth any less,” he added.

The details

Referring to recent student fatalities in tribal residential schools, he noted that one student had died in Melghat in Amravati and others in Gadchiroli.

VIDEO | Hingoli: CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke congratulates Jharkhand students protesting over recruitment exam row as state government cancels JSSC-CGL, TDPL recruitment tests.

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Dipke said he had chosen to hold the protest in Hingoli as he had personally seen his siblings walking to school as children.

“Even today, girls in rural areas have to walk to school. My sisters used to walk to school. I have seen my brothers walking to school. I have personally seen this,” he said.

“Even after 15 years, the situation has not changed. This is shameful. Politicians can arrange buses and trains for election rallies, but they are unable to provide a single bus for poor children travelling to school,” he charged.

Why it matters

Dipke said his campaign was not against village sarpanches or residents and that they should instead be involved in improving schools.

“Our fight is not against sarpanches or villagers. We want to work with them. Where do the sarpanches’ children study? They study in the same schools. Their children do not go to big schools like the children of ministers or MLAs,” he stated.

“If the government cannot do it, we will do it with the help of villagers,” Dipke added.

While basic matters such as education and employment remained unresolved, he alleged that political discourse over the last decade had divided people along caste and religious lines.

Background

While those in power are benefiting from it, “People are being produced to fight among themselves. Who is suffering? We are suffering. Who is not getting education? Our children are not getting it. Who is not getting jobs? Our sons and daughters are not getting jobs,” Dipke said.

He also criticised the disparity between the facilities available to children of politicians and those available to poor, tribal and working-class children.

“Their children go to America to study. I studied at the same place where their children studied,” he added.

(With inputs from PTI)