Garbage, water shortages and broken fans: inside CJP’s ‘School Theek Karo’ campaign

The entrance to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) high school in South Delhi's Chhattarpur, Bhatti Mines, is surrounded by a garbage dump. The monsoon season makes it difficult for students to reach the campus due to garbage and floodwater. The school, which accommodates about 2,500 students, has another entrance but it's located through an abandoned park and adjacent to half-built structures.

Inside the school, residents have raised concerns about the lack of drinking water, functional fans, and washrooms. These issues are not new and form part of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) 'School Theek Karo' (fix the school) campaign. The campaign aims to enhance schools across the country, improve access to education, and encourage parents to demand better facilities in government schools. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke launched the campaign on August 15th at a government school in Santuk Pimpri, Maharashtra.

CJP volunteers visited two MCD government schools in Sanjay Colony, Bhatti Mines: the MCD Primary Co-ed School and the MCD Co-ed High School. At the primary school, water dispensers were allegedly fixed, but parents reported inconsistent access to drinking water. They also claimed that children frequently need to use the toilet and that parents sometimes receive calls from the school about this issue.

The school administration said that water scarcity is a problem as it relies on borewell water from a nearby temple. Staff members alleged that they have submitted multiple complaints but haven't received a positive response.

Another issue that's difficult to address through maintenance requests is monkey attacks. Parents noticed their children, including a 7-year-old boy, being bitten by monkeys while trying to use the washroom. One staff member reported that about two to three children are bitten or attacked by monkeys every month, including during bathroom use. CJP volunteers and Resident Welfare Association (RWA) members believe these problems require government intervention.

At the MCD high school, the issues are more severe. The school also suffers from non-functional washrooms, broken fans, and a lack of water dispensers. Non-functional fans cause students to faint due to the heat. An alumnus of the school, now working with an NGO for underprivileged children, said that the school's condition has deteriorated over time.

The construction of a permanent school building is delayed due to a long-standing dispute over the land. The land was notified as part of the Asola Bhatti Wildlife Sanctuary in 1991 by the Forest Department, but the Directorate of Education (DoE) argues that the school has been operating on the site since the 1980s. The Forest Settlement Officer, in a September 2025 order, accepted the DoE's claim but stated that the land cannot be removed from the Wildlife Sanctuary.