21 October 2026
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

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.


Indian Masterminds Stories
Join our WhatsApp Channel
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Related Stories
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
NEWS
Dr. S
Who Is Dr. S. Senthil Kumar? 1998-Batch IFS Officer Appointed DG of Forest Survey of India
BrahMos-2 Hypersonic Missile
BrahMos-2: India-Russia Missile Project Eyes Export Market with Zircon-Inspired Hypersonic Technology
Rajnath Singh SCO Meeting 2026
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh Calls for Unified Action to Dismantle Terrorism Ecosystem at 25th SCO Meeting 
MF Farooqui
Punjab Deploys 1,300 Personnel Ahead of Amit Shah’s Visit to Meet Drug Victims’ Families, Says DGP MF Farooqui 
J.S
Former Telecom Secretary J.S. Deepak Says IAS Failed to Guide Political Leadership on China’s Economic Model
Suicide
UPSC Aspirant from Andhra Pradesh Found Dead in Delhi’s Old Rajinder Nagar, Police Begin Probe 
Sudhakar Singh
RJD MP Sudhakar Singh Seeks Lok Sabha Speaker’s Intervention Over Defamation Notice by IPS Kundan Krishnan
IPS Tejaswini Gautam
Who Is IPS Tejaswini Gautam? Kota SP Wins Praise for Swift Action in Tiger Shroff Firing Case
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr Saket Badola IFS
Beyond Tigers and Safaris: How Corbett Literature Festival Wants to Change the Conservation Conversation
PK Jena
Why Technology Cannot Replace Human Connection in Governance: P.K. Jena
PK Jena
The IAS Officer Who Put People Before Paperwork: How PK Jena Challenged Corruption and Reformed Governance
ADVERTISEMENT
UPSC Stories
Mavis tak
From Dropping Out of School to Becoming an IPS Officer : How a Father’s Unwavering Support Helped Mavis Tak Achieve Success
For Mavis Tak, becoming an IPS officer once seemed like a distant dream. Despite financial struggles...
Bhikan Rojekar UPSC
He missed MBBS by 1 mark in 2016; Maharashtra’s Bhikan Rojekar secures UPSC AIR 812
Bhikan Rojekar secured AIR 812 in UPSC CSE 2025 in his third attempt. Read how the son of a farm labourer...
Umar Janj UPSC CAPF
15+ Failures Couldn’t Stop Him: Umar Janj Secures AIR 160 in UPSC CAPF 2025
After multiple SSB setbacks, a CAPF interview miss by 12 marks and more than 15 failures, Umar Janj secured...
CSR NEWS
HPCL Gorakhpur cricket stadium
HPCL Commits ₹10 Crore Under CSR for International Cricket Stadium Development in Gorakhpur 
The CSR contribution aims to strengthen sports infrastructure, promote grassroots cricket, create employment...
nhpc csr
NHPC Tanakpur Power Station Provides Vehicles Worth ₹40 Lakh and Medical Equipment Worth ₹28 Lakh Under CSR
Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami Flags Off Three Vehicles for Forest Divisions and Inaugurates a Phacoemulsification...
NBCC India CSR Award 2026
NBCC India Wins Award for Excellence in CSR at 4th Fortune Leadership Awards 2026
The recognition honours NBCC’s community welfare initiatives and efforts to improve healthcare accessibility...
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Latest
Dr. S
Who Is Dr. S. Senthil Kumar? 1998-Batch IFS Officer Appointed DG of Forest Survey of India
Mavis tak
From Dropping Out of School to Becoming an IPS Officer : How a Father’s Unwavering Support Helped Mavis Tak Achieve Success
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Videos
Dr Saket Badola IFS
PK Jena
PK Jena
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT