Ladakh school goes to Mumbai, for classes, memories and vada pav

The students were accommodated at the AFAC School, where computer labs were converted into a makeshift residential facility for them.

Apart from classes, the children spent their after-school hours and weekends exploring the city, savouring vada pav, and taking selfies at landmarks such as the Gateway of India and Marine Drive. They also performed at a festival on the steps of Mount Mary Church in Bandra and made educational trips to the Nehru Science Centre, Planetarium, and Museum of Solutions among others.

The initiative was started by Jitendra Mandlecha, general secretary of AFAC Trust, which runs the Chembur school as well as the Turtuk Valley School in Leh.

According to Mandlecha, it became possible for him to establish the school in Turtuk Valley after the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019.

Mandlecha has been organising the trip to Mumbai for students from the Turtuk Valley School for the past four years — from November-end to February — when schools in the Union territory are mostly shut due to the extreme cold conditions.

Apart from continuing with education, Mandlecha said the initiative aims for a unique cultural exchange.

The effects were evident when the The Indian Express met Naima and her friends at the Chembur school, before they headed home on February 28. Not only did they share their experiences, they even tried to speak in broken Marathi, which they had picked from their new friends in Mumbai.

Reflecting on their experience in the city, one of the students, Atiya Mahei, said, “It is here that we came to know about the concept of tuition classes. Almost all my classmates here at AFAC School go to tuition after school. All of them have smartphones and they use it for various online learning apps.”

Zeba Noor, another student, spoke about how all of them have become more confident in spoken English. “Some of us are already looking at higher education options in Commerce, Science and Psychology,” she said.

Her classmate Tamim Iqbal was more fascinated with the wide range of extracurricular activities for children in the city, including a cricket turf in the school playground. He and his friend Shahid Hassan also shared problems in the city: heavy traffic on roads, annoying mosquito bites and the humid weather.

But all the students were unanimous on what they will miss most after returning home — vada pav, Mumbai’s favourite street food. As they interacted, Mandlecha noted the increased level of confidence and overall personality development in the bunch of students who until now had never moved out of Leh.

His son Siddhant Mandlecha, the administrative officer at AFAC School, said, “The goal of introducing them to a different world was to help them gain a broader perspective. Mumbai, with its rich cultural diversity, has had a remarkable impact.”

He said this was the fourth year of the initiative. “Each year, as schools in Ladakh shut for winter, all Class 7 students from Turtuk Valley School are brought to AFAC school in Mumbai under this initiative,” he said.

He said this year select students from two other schools, Imamia Model School in Leh and Army Goodwill School in Tyakshi, were also part of the initiative. “Other schools from Turtuk Valley have started approaching us to include them,” he said.

Hajira Bano, a Leh local who is also a teacher at Turtuk Valley School, accompanied the students this year. “Students at Turtuk Valley School eagerly wait to reach Class 7 to get the chance to visit Mumbai. They return home as celebrities, sharing their experiences of the city that never sleeps,” she said.

The Mandlecha family’s journey to founding the Turtuk Valley School, which offers free education to children from remote villages of the area, began after a trip to Ladakh in 2018. During the visit, Jitender Mandlecha saw the challenges children faced with education in the remote areas. He took the initiative to train local graduates to become effective educators, with the goal of providing supplementary education to the children. When the Covid pandemic hit, the teachers adapted by conducting small group sessions in nearby homes.

“As parents began to see the improvement, many requested us to open a school. After the abrogation of Article 370, we were able to establish Turtuk Valley School,” said Mandlecha, who started the school in a rented small guesthouse. With enrolment of close to 140 students up to Class 8, the school is set to move to a new building next academic year.