CJP inspects Mumbai Public School in Colaba under ‘School Theek Karo’ campaign

The Cockroach Janata Party CJP on Wednesday inspected the Mumbai Public School at Colaba Market LP Marathi school as part of its lsquoSchool Theek Karorsquo campaign highlighting concerns over classroom strength infrastructure and basic facilities The inspection was led by CJP National Coordinator Akshay Shinde and is the first school inspection by the partyrsquos national leadership in Mumbai Volunteers have earlier inspected schools in the western suburbsWhat the volunteers checkedThe group says its volunteers use a 20question checklist covering nine parameters includinggtgt Student safety and securitygtgt Teacher availabilitygtgt School functioninggtgt Classroom conditionsgtgt Toilets and sanitationgtgt Basic facilitiesVolunteers visited classrooms toilets and the storage area and recorded their observationsA teacher conducts a class at the schoolWhat they flagged80Students in some classrooms according to the volunteers3035The optimal class strength cited by the group20Questions on the inspection checklist9Parameters covered by the checklistThe volunteers claimed they foundBenches kept in the school corridorgtgt Children from different age groups seated in the same classroomgtgt Different grades being taught simultaneouslygtgt Some classrooms with more than 80 studentsgtgt Fire hydrants that had expired or were not functioninggtgt No sanitary pads available for studentsThe uniform problemCJP National Coordinator Akshay Shinde speaks to a teacher during the inspection PicsAshish RajeIn one classroom volunteers asked a teacher why a child was wearing plain clothes They were told the child had received a uniform of the wrong size The child was then asked the same question and said his pants did not fit properlyHow the inspections are being doneAccording to CJP members volunteers have been visiting municipal schools in pairs or groups of three They approach principals for permission and conduct inspections during school hours so they can speak to teachers and students Each volunteer fills out the checklist and submits it to the partyrsquos WhatsApp group where the findings are compiled for the leadershipAn expired fire hydrant at Mumbai Public SchoolA controversial inspectionThe inspection itself however disrupted regular classes CJP volunteers and social media influencers entered ongoing classrooms questioned teachers and students and took photographs with children Classes for Standards I to VIII were reportedly interrupted for 45 minutes to one hour An independent volunteer associated with the group said schools are inspected during teaching hours to allow volunteers to interact with students and understand their problemsCJP national coordinator speaksAkshay Shinde national coordinator CJPWhat is lsquoSchool Theek Karorsquo trying to achieveThe lsquoSchool Theek Karorsquo campaign is a nationwide civic reform initiative launched on August 15 We are visiting schools across the country and the campaign has been launched in several states including Tamil Nadu Uttar Pradesh Rajasthan and across Maharashtra citiesThis particular school in Colaba was chosen to launch the campaign in Mumbai We were also alerted to malpractices in this school We will visit all BMC schools henceforth to draw the authoritiesrsquo attention to the dire state of school educationWhy inspect during class hoursWe visit schools during teaching hours so that we are able to speak to children and understand their problems We also get to interact with parents during this time However this can be organised better so that children get to interact with a large group in a better and softer wayBut the inspection disrupted classes You confronted a teacher was that justifiedWe want things to change for the better However citizens will only be heard if we make a noise That is the only means left to draw government attention to the situationI was speaking to the teacher and asking him basic questions that he did not have answers to He was misleading us and not giving us information which led to a heated conversation