Konark Bhagabati (Junior) College

Konark Bhagabati (Junior) College is a small institution located in Kanas, within the Puri district. It is a rural area, so the college is a central point for many students from the surrounding farmland who come here for their junior college years. The building is modest and sits among a few trees that provide some much-needed shade during the afternoon hours. We have simple classrooms where the students sit for their +2 lectures. It is a very basic setup—chalkboards, wooden desks, and a lot of manual record-keeping in the office. The sounds of the countryside are never far away, and sometimes you can hear the farm animals or the wind through the fields while a class is going on. Our teachers are people from this region who understand the challenges the students face, like traveling long distances on cycles or helping their families with work after school. We don't have a big library or a computer room with the latest machines, but we have enough to get through the state curriculum. The atmosphere is relaxed but everyone knows they are here to study. During the monsoon, the ground gets a bit muddy, but we just put down some stones and keep going. We are just a local school providing a place for the youth of Kanas to continue their education without having to go all the way into the city.