After 42 Attempts To Pass Class X, 65-Yr-Old Odisha Man Finally Earns A Law Degree

Dhenkanal: Try, try until you succeed! Trilochan Naik, a 65-year-old man from Dhenkanal district has proved the saying right. Trilochan has finally earned a Law degree at this ripe age and hopes to practicing law soon.

Trilochan emerged in the public eye for attempting the matriculation examination 42 times and finally clearing it. It took him another 10 attempts to pass Class 12.

A resident of Parikheda under Dhenkanal’s Sadar block, he first appeared for the matriculation examination from Banasingh High School at his village in 1972.

He was unsuccessful in qualifying. Later, he attempted the supplementary examination in the same year, but failed again.

Not dismayed by repeated failures, Trilochan cleared the matriculation examination in 1993 on his 42nd attempt. In the same year, his elder son, Akhil Naik passed out of Class 12.

But the father refused to give up. After passing his Class 10 exam, he pursued his Plus-II studies from Dhenkanal College and finally passed out after 10 attempts.

Invigorated with the successful completion of Plus-II, Trilochan joined the graduation course at Dhenkanal Evening College and successfully cleared it without any delay.

Talking to India Today, Trilochan said, “An education degree was the most precious possession for someone to have. It is only through education that a person can understand what’s going on in our country and the outside world.

“Education is precious for survival and for someone to succeed in life. Keeping that in mind, I tried and tried, and after 41 attempts I finally passed my Class 10 on my 42nd attempt,” said Naik.

There were times when teachers at Banasingh High School became irritated with having to fill up his forms twice a year and refused to do so, added the 65-year-old.

Coincidentally, Nail secured admission in the Dhenkanal Government College’s Humanities stream for Plus-II course in 1997, and in the same year, his elder son enrolled in the same college for his Bachelor’s degree.

During the Covid-19 lockdown period of 2020, after successful completion of the LLB course from Shri Biswaguru Law College in Cuttack, he enrolled in the Odisha State Bar Council. In the future, Trilochan is hopeful of practicing law in Dhenkanal court.