As CJP Starts Visits, Haryana Education Minister Says No Unauthorised Entry in Govt Schools
New Delhi: Haryana education minister Mahipal Dhanda said on Monday (August 24) that outsiders will no longer be permitted to walk into government schools without proper authorisation. This statement comes in direct response to a string of surprise inspections carried out by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) across the country, including in Haryana.
Over the past fortnight, CJP volunteers have been touring government schools in villages across the state under their "School Thik Karo (Fix the School)" initiative, flagging poor infrastructure, unhygienic conditions, teacher shortages, and substandard midday meals.
Speaking to the press in Hansi, Dhanda described government schools as a “national heritage” and insisted that the “safety of students cannot be compromised for political publicity.”
According to the minister, anyone wishing to visit a school must do so alongside panchayat representatives and members of the School Management Committee (SMC).
“The sarpanch is there, elected representatives of the panchayat are there. There is an SMC in all schools. Anyone visiting must take along SMC and panchayat members,” he said, warning that accountability would be fixed for any disruption caused during such visits. He further urged those with legitimate grievances to first take their complaints to the sarpanch or other designated authorities.
Speaking to The Hindu, CJP national core committee member Sudhir Sangwan said the group has already covered 16 to 17 schools spread across Jhajjar, Bhiwani, Charkhi Dadri, and Fatehabad, and that a teacher in Bhiwani was suspended after an activist questioned the quality of food grains being used for midday meals.
Sangwan added that CJP intends to expand its campaign to another 100 schools over the coming two weeks, pressing for accountability and better implementation of existing programmes.
He also raised doubts about how well SMCs actually function, arguing that although they exist on paper as oversight bodies, many members remain passive or simply don't have the means to keep a proper check on schools.
On X, Sangwan posted an image of an order issued by Hansi deputy commissioner with the subject "strict directions regarding unauthorised/illegal entry into school premises and prevention of disturbance to academic activities."
He questioned "if this was democracy". "Yes, I challenge you, tell me the names of ten children of government officials or leaders living in the villages of Hansi district who study in government schools. So on what grounds do you go to government schools to have tea and snacks? In Haryana's Hansi district, a Tughlaqi decree is being issued for filming the condition of government schools with a camera. Is this democracy?"
"Shouldn't government schools be in good condition? If government schools become good and children start getting quality education, then the shop of the government that spreads hate and devours jobs will shut down. The people of Haryana will not tolerate this. They will not allow children's future to be meddled with," he added.
Other BJP-ruled states
As The Wire reported, several districts across Uttar Pradesh have issued directives banning outsiders, particularly YouTubers and social media users, from entering council-run schools as videos of students' protests and abysmal condition of school infrastructure and even midday meal have gone viral in the recent past.
On August 22, Uttar Pradesh's Deoria police registered an FIR against youth activist Rajat Singh on charges of entering a primary school in Gauribazar’s Damar Bishwa village without authorisation and spreading misinformation.
On August 16, CJP spokesperson Ashutosh Ranka alleged that a volunteer from West Bengal’s Bankura district was hounded by BJP goons after he inspected a school in Indus block. The volunteer, Abdul Hafiz, was allegedly beaten up after he reached home and his father, Janab Mafik, who intervened to break up the scuffle, was fatally attacked by the goons, Ranka said.
“We do not want financial assistance from the government, any organisation or any individual. We only want you to stand with us in our struggle for the improvement of education. If the government really wants to do something, let it build a school in the village in Mafik’s name with proper infrastructure and all the facilities that children deserve,” Hafiz and Hafiz’s mother Hasina Bibi have just one appeal to those who come to their home.
"If the government really wants to do something, let it build a school in the village in my father's name with proper infrastructure and all the facilities that children deserve,” Hafiz told The Wire.
The Rajasthan government had also issued an order, prohibiting “outsiders” from entering public school premises without prior permission and also restricted photography and live streaming of school premises after the CJP launched the initiative.
A delegation of the CJP was allegedly attacked as it was visiting the Rampura Kanwarpura village in Jaipur district’s Bagru to inspect a government school which reportedly has a dilapidated building.
This article went live on August twenty-fifth, two thousand twenty six, at ten minutes past seven in the evening.The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
