The Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) on Thursday launched its ‘Adivasi School Thik’ karo campaign, aimed at fixing the tribal schools. Party founder Abhijeet Dipke accused the successive governments in the state of neglecting the education and welfare needs of tribal students. 

As part of the symbolic protest, Dipke on Wednesday ripped apart a copy of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between the Maharashtra Tribal Development Department and the Late Lakshman Trust in connection with tribal hostels. 

During a meeting with the tribal students in Maharashtra, Dipke was informed about the agreement. He then backed the demand for the cancellation of the MoU, and subsequently tore up a copy of the document to register his opposition. 

Row erupts over tribal hostel management

The outfit resorted to the move amid allegations by the tribal rights group Adivasi Adhikar Bachhav Kriti Samiti that the Maharashtra government had handed over the operations of as many as 490 tribal hostels to a trust linked to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). 

However, a senior official from the tribal development department had earlier shunned the allegations as ‘baseless,’ maintaining that the hostels could not be handed over in the manner alleged. 

As per the official, the MoU with the Late Lakshman Mankar Trust had been signed almost a year ago to facilitate personality development programmes for students. 

Campaign launched to inspect tribal schools

The outfit announced the ‘Adivasi School Thik Karo’ campaign, following which Dipke alleged that tribal schools across India had suffered from government apathy for the past 80 years. While addressing a press conference, he said that the party’s campaign was aimed at shedding light on the problems and alleged discrimination faced by tribal students and bringing them to the government’s attention. 

Notably, the move marks an extension of the CJP’s ‘School Thik Karo’ campaign, which the party launched on August 15 this year across the nation, and aimed to focus on the condition of urban, as well as rural government schools. 

Dipke said the tribal school campaign would begin on Thursday in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra. He remarked, “Schools in tribal regions across India have been neglected by all governments in the last 80 years. Therefore, we are starting the ‘Adivasi School Thik Karo’ campaign from Thursday in Gadchiroli district of Maharashtra.” 

As part of the campaign, representatives of the outfit shall visit tribal schools to assess their facilities and infrastructure, Dipke said. 

“Focus to be laid on tribal students, schools”

Dipke thereafter took a swipe at political parties, and alleged that governments and political organisations had failed to devote adequate resources to tribal education. The CJP convenor went on to say, “Almost all governments have ignored tribal students... Political parties build their party headquarters in every district by spending crores of rupees, but they don't have funds to give to tribal residential schools that are mostly operated from rented properties.”

He went on to say that greater attention is required to schools and students in tribal regions, arguing that young people in these areas have significant potential.