After Dipke's 48-hour ultimatum, Jaipur school moved out of cow shed

A government primary school in Jaipur district, where 18 children were studying in a cattle enclosure after its building was declared unsafe, has been temporarily shifted to a house with villagers' help.

In Short

• Government school in Jaipur shifted to a house for safety of 18 children
• Classes resumed after education department approved temporary relocation
• Villagers support education and demand permanent school building

A government primary school in Jaipur district, where 18 children were studying in a cattle enclosure after the school building was declared unsafe, has been shifted temporarily to a house with the help of local residents.

The classes resumed at the new location on Saturday morning after the education department agreed to the temporary arrangement.

The move came a day after a confrontation between villagers and workers of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), including co-convener Ashutosh Ranka, who had reached the village as part of the party’s ongoing “School Thik Karo” campaign.

The CJP team had gone to inspect the condition of government schools and interact with students and teachers. The team faced opposition from locals and was pushed out of the area following a confrontation. After the confrontation, CJP founder and convenor Abhijeet Dipke warned of an escalation on Friday, saying he would sit on a dharna in Jaipur if steps weren't taken within 48 hours.

After the incident, villagers approached the education department and sought the school’s relocation to a safer place. Following the department’s consent, the school was temporarily moved to a house made available by a local resident.

The new arrangement has provided a safe roof for the 18 children. Students and teachers expressed relief after classes resumed at the new location. Villagers said they were ready to support the children’s education and also contribute to the construction of a permanent school building.

“School is ours and the children are ours. We are always ready for the children,” the villager who offered his house for classes said, adding that the villagers would extend full support to the construction of a school building in the future.

The villagers also expressed anger over the dispute surrounding the school and the conduct of people they described as antisocial elements who they said had created a tense atmosphere. They said it was wrong to turn an issue concerning children’s education and a school into a controversy.

The temporary shift has also raised hopes that a permanent school building will eventually be constructed. For now, the 18 children have a safer place to study, while villagers are looking towards the construction of a permanent school building.

ASHUTOSH RANKA CALLS IT CJP IMPACT

After the developments, CJP leader Ashutosh Ranka described the development as “CJP Impact” in a post on X.

Ranka said repair work had started at a school in Jodhawas, Thanagazi, and identified it as the school where the CJP team had gone the previous week.

According to his post, classrooms were being repaired, the dilapidated building had been demolished, and washrooms and a playground would also be prepared soon.

“This is what we are fighting for. The school should be fixed so that children can study properly,” Ranka said, adding that no sensible and patriotic person could have a problem with such work.

He also thanked the Alwar administration and requested it to inspect other dilapidated schools in the area.

MINISTER WARNS AGAINST POLITICAL ACTIVITY IN SCHOOLS

Rajasthan School Education Minister Madan Dilawar, meanwhile, said schools should not be turned into political battlegrounds.

In a post on X, Dilawar said information had come to him that some people associated with alleged political parties were visiting schools and attempting to unnecessarily disturb the atmosphere.

He described the development as unfortunate and said schools were “sacred campuses” meant for building the future of children. He said the focus should remain on education, values and students’ bright future rather than politics.

Dilawar appealed to teachers, parents and the public to remain alert against attempts to disturb the school environment for vested interests and temporary publicity, and to help protect the dignity of schools, the academic atmosphere and children’s future.

The education department had earlier issued a directive restricting unauthorised entry, photography and videography in government schools after the CJP announced that it would visit schools across Rajasthan.

- Ends