Rajasthan Restricts Outsider Entry Into Government Schools After CJP ‘School Thik Karo’ Inspection Plan

Rajasthan’s Education Department has restricted the entry of outsiders into government school campuses without prior permission, hours after the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) announced plans to inspect government schools across the state under its “School Thik Karo” campaign.

The directive was issued on Sunday evening and applies to anyone who is not associated with a school; permission must be sought from the principal or head of a school before entering the campus. The restriction is not applicable to Government officials visiting schools in an official work.

The new circular also limits photography, videography, interviews, audio recording and live streaming of students, teachers or school activities. These activities will need a prior written permission from the principal and will only be for lawful purposes. All visitors must record their details in the school’s visitor register.  

The order follows CJP's announcement that it would be visiting government schools in Rajasthan as part of its “School Thik Karo” campaign, which seeks to document issues related to school infrastructure and basic facilities. The campaign started on Independence day and has started to get people talking about the state of government schools.

Reports indicate that districts such as Jaipur, Ajmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Dholpur, Bharatpur, Kota, Barmer and Hanumangarh have requested CJP to visit schools. The organisation has announced that its volunteers will be visiting schools in the coming weeks.

It has therefore become a crucial element of the unfolding story that the Rajasthan government issued its order. The government directive has been about school safety, access and permissions but the CJP campaign has renewed focus on government school infrastructure, basic amenities, accountability.

The bigger question for students and parents is about the public schools and the safe, working learning environments. The developments in Rajasthan will continue to generate discussion on the monitoring of government school infrastructure and how concerns about facilities can be raised through the proper channels.