Giving Every Child a
Place to Learn
Opportunity School
Opportunity School has grown from six students into a permanent school serving around 300 children from economically constrained families living around IIT Kanpur.
A campus without boundaries
What began with six children in 1967 has grown into one of IIT Kanpur’s most enduring expressions of inclusion. Opportunity School brings education, scientific exploration and wider possibility to children from economically constrained families living around the campus.
Growing beside Opportunity
In IIT Kanpur’s early years, many children from families of daily-wage workers and others supporting campus life had few realistic schooling options. The need was recognised by members of the Institute community, who responded not with a temporary outreach effort, but with a school designed to endure.
Conceived in 1964 and formally established in 1967, Opportunity School began with six students. Today, it serves around 300 children from kindergarten through Class VIII and is recognised by the Uttar Pradesh Board of Education.
For decades, teachers, faculty members, students, employees, alumni and well-wishers sustained the school. Former principal R. S. Shrivastava played a foundational role, mobilising support and guiding its academic and operational development for nearly four decades.
From continuity to capacity
In February 2020, Opportunity School moved into the Shri Harihar Prasad Singh Building, made possible through the support of Prof. Chandralekha Singh and Prof. Jeremy Levy. Named in memory of Prof. Singh’s father, the building gave the school a permanent home and stronger spaces for learning.
Their contribution went beyond constructing a building. It created enduring institutional capacity—strengthening the school’s ability to serve successive generations of children.
The school now includes a library, computer laboratory, audiovisual room, activity spaces and science-learning resources. Students receive books, stationery and nutritious refreshments, alongside opportunities in art, music, dance, drama, sports, electronics, environmental awareness and Arduino programming.
Giving curiosity a place
In April 2024, Opportunity School added Vigyanalaya, an applied-science laboratory envisioned by Padma Shri Prof. H.C. Verma and the late Prof. Sameer Khandekar. Developed primarily with support from Shiksha Sopan and Kewal Engineering Pvt. Ltd., it allows students to observe phenomena, conduct experiments and build models.
On a campus where advanced research shapes the future, younger learners can now experience the first excitement of scientific discovery.
The pathway ahead
Opportunity School currently provides education through Class VIII and is working towards CBSE affiliation and the introduction of Classes IX and X. Scholarships can further help eligible students continue their education beyond the school.
For many children, this transition is decisive. The next chapter is therefore not only about reaching more students, but about creating an uninterrupted pathway from the first classroom to secondary education, higher education, skills and independence.
Opportunity School began with six children. Its future lies in ensuring that every child who enters finds not merely a place in a classroom, but a pathway that continues.
