17 October 2026
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Expelled from School for Low Marks in 10th, But Cleared UPSC in First Attempt

Akash Kulhari was expelled from his school for securing low marks in Class 10. However, the same boy cleared UPSC CSE in 2006 in his very first attempt. He is currently posted as Additional Police Commissioner in Kanpur.
Indian Masterminds Stories

Some people write their own success story and make it very interesting, too. Akash Kulhari is one such person who not only scripted success but also has an interesting side to it. He courted success in UPSC in his very first attempt. But he reveals now that he was expelled from his school for scoring low marks in his 10th. How did a boy who scored so low marks in 10th board exam manage to clear CSE in the first attempt itself? Indian Masterminds tries to find out.

EXPELLED FROM SCHOOL

IPS officer Akash Kulhari is currently posted as Additional Police Commissioner in Kanpur. He hails from Bikaner district in Rajasthan where he did his schooling, too. In the year 1996, he cleared his 10th examination with only 57%. Due to which his school expelled him and didn’t allow him to take admission again.

In an interaction with media, Mr. Kulhari said, “I was expelled from school after the 10th result. However, I didn’t give up. Instead, I worked hard and achieved success.”

After his poor performance in his 10th examination, Akash Kulhari’s father admitted him to Kendriya Vidyalaya, Bikaner. This time, he worked hard for his 12th board examination and secured 85% and made his parents proud.

UPSC JOURNEY

After his schooling, he did his graduation in B.Com from Duggal College Bikaner in the year 2001. Then he did his M.Com from School of Social Science from Jawaharlal Nehru University, Delhi.

While completing his M.Com, Kulhari started preparing for UPSC and in 2006, he cracked UPSC civil service examination in his first attempt. Prior to that, in 2005, he also did M Phil from JNU.

MARKS NOT ONLY CRITERIA FOR SUCCESS

His success story breaks the myth that marks in board examinations are the most important prerequisite to achieve big in life. His success story will give hope to many young UPSC aspirants who were unable to get good marks in their 10th or 12th that they, too, can make it!

While talking with media organisations, IPS Akash Kulhari also said that after graduation, he had two career options in front of him. The first one was that he should do MBA and take up a job in the corporate sector.

Kulhari

“The second option that I had with me was to prepare for the civil services examination. My mother wanted her children to serve the country by becoming IAS or IPS officers. So, respecting her wish, I decided to take up civil services as my career,” he shared.

He further informed that after seeing him becoming an IPS, his younger brother also chose this path and is now a civil servant, too.


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