For Ankit Kumar, becoming a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DySP) in Bihar was the result of years of hard work, self-study, and perseverance despite financial hardships. A resident of Saran district, Kumar secured the 333rd rank in the 70th Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination, proving that limited resources need not stand in the way of ambitious dreams.
Coming from a financially disadvantaged family, Kumar prepared for the competitive examination while living in his village. His journey was far from easy. With limited financial resources, he could not afford to enrol in expensive coaching institutes. Instead, he relied on self-study, analysed the BPSC examination pattern and previous years’ questions (PYQs), and prepared at home. “My financial condition was very poor. My father came from a very poor family and could not afford to send me to big institutions for my studies. “Even in our villages, far away from the centres of these controversies, we were affected by the reports. We wondered whether the allegations were true. But when I appeared for the examination, I did not find anything of that sort. Kumar also spoke about misconceptions surrounding the interview process, particularly the perception that candidates from villages receive lower marks than those from more privileged backgrounds. “People often say that village candidates get lower marks in interviews. That is completely false. “This time, the interview system involved lottery-based selection of candidates. Ankit Kumar’s message to aspirants preparing in villages Kumar’s achievement is a reminder that candidates can pursue their ambitions even without access to expensive coaching or the resources available in larger cities. He urged aspirants from villages to remain patient, work consistently, and prepare with a clear strategy. “If you have the capacity to work hard, the patience to keep going, and the right strategy, you can analyse previous years’ questions and hold on to your dreams. You can live in a village, stay in a hut, dream of becoming an officer, and achieve it.
Alongside his studies, he ran a coaching institute in a tin-roofed structure and taught students for nearly 10 years to support his education and shoulder family responsibilities. Ankit Kumar on the controversies surrounding the 70th BPSC exam The 70th BPSC examination was surrounded by controversies, with allegations of question paper leaks and corruption emerging after the preliminary examination held on December 13.
“I taught children for nearly 10 years, and while teaching them, I continued my own preparation,” Kumar said. So, I started preparing on my own at home by analysing the BPSC examination pattern and previous years’ questions,” he said. Kumar said these reports also affected candidates preparing in remote villages, prompting doubts about the examination process. If cheating or manipulation were involved and seats were sold for money, poor candidates like us would never get selected,” he said. I prepared at my coaching institute, where I also taught students, and I received good marks, which helped me secure the DySP post,” he said. The level of transparency I witnessed made me feel that even the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) does not have as much transparency as the BPSC,” Kumar said. I have proved that by doing so,” he said.
He also praised the interview process, saying the lottery-based system for selecting candidates for interviews had contributed to transparency.
