Gopala Krishna Ronanki has been a teacher in a primary school for the last 11 years. He has been ranked number three in the all-India level, in the Union Public Service Commission’s civil services 2016 examination.
A farmer’s son from the remote village in Andhra Pradesh made it to the third rank at an all-India level in the Union Public Service Commission’s civil services 2016 exams. Gopala Krishna Ronanki is top in both the Telugu speaking states. Ronanki who belongs to Parasamba village of Palasa block in Srikakulam district has been working as a teacher in a primary school for the last 11 years. There was a time when his parents Ronanki Appa Rao and Rukminamma could not afford electricity or enough money to send him to private school. Somehow he completed his intermediate course with maths, physics, and chemistry at the Government Junior College in Palasa. Ronanki was quoted saying,”Then I did a two-year teachers’ training course at Dubacharla in West Godavari district and was selected as a government teacher in 2006. Getting a job was my priority as I had to earn my own livelihood.”
Ronanki appeared for his graduation privately from Andhra University, Visakhapatnam and pursued B Sc (MPC). However, he wanted to “make it to the IAS. I had been preparing for it for almost a decade. Finally, I could achieve my goal in my fourth attempt,” he said.
Gopala Krishna chose Telugu literature as his optional in the civils as he had done schooling and intermediate course in the Telugu medium. Surprisingly, he was also allowed by UPSC to appear for the personality test in Telugu. While Ronaki was striving hard to crack civil exams he did not tell his parents about his dreams. He said, “We didn’t even have electricity at home till I completed my Intermediate. All that my parents knew was that I was a teacher. I broke the news today to them that I had been selected to the IAS and would soon become a collector.”
