“Every Child Deserves the Opportunity to Learn”: Dr Ashok Kumar Mittal on Taking Education Beyond Classrooms through LPU’s GyanDeep

Jalandhar, September 8, 2026: For some children, a classroom is a daily reality. For others, simply having access to books, a teacher, or a computer can be a life changing opportunity. This gap is where Lovely Professional University (LPU) is trying to make a difference through GyanDeep, a student led initiative that takes education from the university campus into nearby villages and underserved communities.
On International Literacy Day, the initiative offers a reminder that literacy is not only about being able to read and write. It is also about having the confidence to learn, access information, use technology, make informed choices, and imagine possibilities beyond one’s immediate circumstances.
Under GyanDeep, LPU NSS volunteers regularly engage with children from low income communities, including those living in nearby slum areas and villages, providing supplementary education through interactive and activity based sessions. More than 250 children have been educated through the initiative, with 75 currently enrolled. What makes the programme distinctive is that LPU students themselves become teachers and mentors, taking lessons in subjects and skills while encouraging children to participate through storytelling, poetry, art, dance, and other creative activities.
The effort also extends to digital literacy. For children and villagers who may have little or no exposure to computers, LPU NSS volunteers conduct free basic computer training both on campus and in nearby communities. A dedicated library at LPU provides another avenue for students from adopted and nearby villages to access books and educational resources.
Dr. Ashok Kumar Mittal, Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha, and Founder Chancellor of LPU, said that the purpose of education must ultimately be to expand opportunity. “Every Child Deserves the Opportunity to Learn, education becomes truly meaningful when it opens doors to opportunity. This is why LPU continues to focus on Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives and scholarships for deserving students from financially disadvantaged backgrounds, so that lack of resources does not become a barrier to education. Every child deserves the opportunity to learn, to dream and to believe that their circumstances do not have to define their future.”
The University's community engagement has also connected education with wider public well being. During the Pulse Polio Immunization Drive conducted in collaboration with the Civil Surgeon, Jalandhar, LPU-NSS volunteers supported the administration of polio drops to children below five years of age at key locations. The effort reflected the larger idea behind community service at the University that meaningful education and social development often go hand in hand.
For LPU, programmes such as GyanDeep represent a larger understanding of what a university can contribute to society. Its students are not only learning inside classrooms but are also being given opportunities to take what they know into communities, share their skills and understand the realities faced by children who have fewer educational resources.
This approach is also reflected in the University's commitment to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, particularly those relating to poverty, quality education and reduced inequalities. On a day dedicated globally to literacy, GyanDeep presents a simple idea with a larger implication, sometimes, improving literacy does not require building another classroom, it requires taking a teacher, a book, a computer or simply the willingness to teach to a child who has been waiting for that opportunity.