Pragathi Vidya Jyothi Educational Academy

You can find us in New Malakpet, tucked away behind the BSNL office. If you see the Sohail Hotel, you are pretty much there. Our academy is a place where students come and go all day, especially in the late afternoons when schools let out. The building isn't anything special to look at, just a regular place with classrooms that have seen a lot of use. We have wooden benches that have been scratched up by years of students sitting through lessons. There is always a smell of chalk and old paper in the air. We spend our time helping kids with their subjects, trying to make sense of textbooks and exam papers. It gets pretty loud during the breaks when everyone is talking at once in the hallways. The BSNL office next door is a good landmark because everyone knows where that is. We don't have a big staff, just a few of us who care about the kids getting their work done. Sometimes the electricity cuts out and we have to open all the windows to get a breeze, which brings in the noise of the traffic from the main road. It’s a bit chaotic at times, with papers flying everywhere and teachers rushing between rooms, but it’s a good kind of busy. We don’t use any high-tech gadgets; it’s mostly just us, the students, and their notebooks. We stay open late most nights because there is always someone who needs a little extra help before a big test. It's a lot of work every single day.