Kumaran High School

Our school is located out near Apta Phata Village, right along the Mumbai Goa Highway. If you’ve ever driven down that way toward New Panvel, you’ve probably passed us without thinking much about it. It’s a bit of a dusty spot because of all the construction and the big trucks that roar past at all hours. The school building is a solid, no-nonsense structure that sits back a bit from the road. We have a decent amount of space compared to the schools in the middle of the city, which is nice for the students when they want to run around. The wind carries the sound of the highway right into the classrooms, so we’ve learned to speak a bit louder. I usually spend the first hour of the day checking the boundary walls and making sure the gate is clear of any debris from the road. The classrooms are basic, with the same kind of desks you’d find anywhere else. We have a lot of kids from the nearby villages, so there’s a real local feel to the place. We don’t have air conditioning or fancy labs with shiny new equipment. We just have the basics that get the job done. It’s a bit of a commute for some of the teachers, but we like the open feel of being out here. We just take it one day at a time and keep going.