Lucknow, July 18 - Eight-year-old Pinki Sonkar, the protagonist of the 'Smile Pinki' documentary that won an Oscar, has just got another reason to smile with the Lucknow Public Schools and Colleges (LPSC) authorities deciding to provide free education to her.

The LPSC made the announcement after a section of media reported that the little waif still washes utensils in her village in Mirzapur, in order to meet the expenses of her family.

'When we learnt about her poor living conditions, we were shocked. In our attempt to make her life better, we decided to offer her free education till Class 12,' LPSC director Sushil Kumar told IANS.

Pinki would be enrolled in the LPSC branch at the Madhoganj in Hardoi district, where she would also be provided free residential facility in a hostel, he added.