Broken toilets, leaking roofs: Why India's 'cockroach' party wants to fix schools

What the report says

BBC World News reports that India’s Cockroach Janta Party, a satirical online movement, has launched a new campaign focused on the poor condition of government schools. The effort, called #SchoolThikKaro or #FixTheSchool, follows the group’s earlier protests over a medical entrance exam scandal and the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. The party is using videos, social media posts and public complaints to draw attention to broken toilets, leaking roofs, unsafe classrooms and shortages of basic facilities in schools, especially in rural areas.

The BBC’s reporting describes a girls’ primary school in Faridabad, near Delhi, where several toilets and classrooms are unusable and rain can flood the rooms. It also cites broader official and expert concerns about India’s education spending, school closures and falling enrolment in government schools. CJP founder Abhijeet Dipke says the group wants to push authorities to improve benches, washrooms, drinking water and digital classrooms so children in villages are not left behind.

The campaign has already prompted some local responses after students posted viral videos showing poor school conditions. BBC also notes the wider structural issues behind the complaints, including teacher shortages and the use of teachers for non-teaching government duties such as election work. The report presents the movement as part of a growing public push for accountability in India’s public education system.