Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke has announced the launch of the ‘Adivasi School Thik Karo’ campaign from Maharashtra’s Gadchiroli on September 17, a month after his group began its nationwide ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign.
Announced in Nagpur on September 16, the initiative will involve ground-level inspections of tribal schools, with a focus on infrastructure, teacher availability, safety and residential facilities.
Dipke alleged that tribal schools have faced government neglect for decades and said the campaign would expand to Maharashtra’s Nandurbar and Nashik, as well as Rajasthan, Jharkhand, Odisha and Gujarat.
The choice of Gadchiroli follows the deaths of three tribal girls at an aided residential ashram school in Japtalai, where six students were reportedly bitten by a snake while sleeping in the hostel on August 10.
The deaths prompted an inquiry, criminal cases and cancellation of the school’s registration, while the Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights announced plans for a wider safety audit of tribal residential schools and hostels.
Dipke has also raised concerns over the functioning of Eklavya Model Residential Schools (EMRS), teacher vacancies and access to higher education. However, while he has alleged that 477 of 720 EMRSs are non-functional, the latest Union government data says 728 EMRSs have been approved and 508 are functional.
Schools Under The Lens
The new campaign is being presented by CJP as a field-based exercise rather than a one-off political announcement. Dipke said his team would visit tribal schools and document the facilities available to students, including classrooms, basic infrastructure, teachers and residential arrangements.
He has particularly questioned schools operating from rented premises and alleged that some institutions lack permanent infrastructure. He has also raised the issue of teachers being deployed for non-teaching duties, asking who would teach students when teachers are assigned election-related work.
Dipke has linked these concerns to a wider question of equality in education. He cited a 22.8% higher-education enrolment rate for Scheduled Tribe students and questioned the low representation of tribal students in institutions such as the IITs.
The 22.8% figure is consistent with the latest government-reported Scheduled Tribe Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education, but Dipke’s interpretation of these figures as evidence of discrimination is his allegation and should be distinguished from the underlying statistics.
Meanwhile, the Union government says its EMRS programme is expanding, with 43 new schools inaugurated during 2025-26, and says schools are being equipped with laboratories, libraries, smart classrooms, sports facilities and other infrastructure.
Gadchiroli Tragedy Raises Safety Questions
The campaign’s launch comes just weeks after the deaths at Japtalai Ashramshala in Dhanora taluka. Six girls were reportedly bitten by a venomous snake while sleeping in the hostel, with three Deepika Lakda, Sushmita Mandal and Anu Koreti dying from their injuries.
Reports said the students were sleeping on the floor when the incident occurred. The district administration ordered an inquiry, while authorities later cancelled the school’s registration and began arrangements to shift the remaining students.
The incident also led to criminal proceedings. The school principal and wardens were booked, while former Congress MP Marotrao Kowase and his secretary, who were associated with the trust running the school, were also named in the case.
The Maharashtra State Commission for Protection of Child Rights subsequently planned a comprehensive safety audit covering ashram schools, residential schools and hostels across the state. For tribal students living away from home, the issue therefore extends beyond classrooms: hostel conditions, food, sanitation, medical access and basic safety can directly affect their education and wellbeing.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Every child deserves a school where learning is accompanied by safety, dignity and basic facilities — irrespective of whether that school is in Mumbai, Pune or a remote tribal village. CJP’s campaign has brought renewed attention to these concerns, but sustained improvement will require more than inspections or political statements.
Government departments, school administrations, civil society groups and local communities must work together to identify gaps, publish clear findings and ensure that promised repairs, staffing and safety measures actually reach students. At the same time, allegations should be backed by verifiable evidence so that genuine failures are addressed without allowing political disagreements to overshadow the needs of children.
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