Begusarai, Aug 24: Candidates preparing for the Bihar Public Service Commission’s (BPSC) Teacher Recruitment Examination-4 (TRE-4) staged a protest at Hartali Chowk here on Monday, opposing the decision to conduct the recruitment test in two stages and demanding a return to the earlier single-exam pattern.
The protesters said they had prepared for the examination based on the original pattern and were caught off guard by the decision to introduce a Preliminary Test (PT) followed by Mains.
“We prepared with a single exam pattern in mind. Now, how can we suddenly take two exams?” the candidates said, alleging that the change amounted to mental harassment and was unfair to aspirants who had been preparing for years.
The protesters demanded that the PT-Mains system be scrapped and the examination be conducted in a single stage. They also sought restoration of domicile preference for Bihar candidates, removal of negative marking and permission for candidates appearing for the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) to apply for the recruitment.
They further demanded a “one candidate, one seat” policy, saying it would provide opportunities to more aspirants and help prevent seats from remaining vacant.
“The government and the education department should stop playing with the future of the students,” the protesters said, warning that the agitation would continue until their demands were addressed and could intensify across Bihar.
Amid the protests, BPSC Exam Controller Rajesh Kumar Singh said the TRE-4 examination could be held in December or January, though the exact date has not yet been finalised.
“The exam will be conducted in two stages: PT and Mains,” Singh said, adding that both stages would contain objective-type questions.
He said the decision to introduce the two-stage system was taken based on suggestions from the Economic Offences Unit and other agencies. The Commission also pointed out that several recruitment bodies, including the UPSC and commissions in various states, conduct examinations in multiple stages.
On the issue of negative marking, Singh said it would continue to apply, noting that it is a common feature of competitive examinations and applies equally to all candidates.
“Negative marking is implemented in all exams; it’s the same for everyone,” he said.
The BPSC said the TRE-4 application process would continue until September 30, and the examination schedule would be decided after the Commission gets a clearer picture of the number of applicants.
“The date of the TRE-4 exam cannot be announced yet because we do not yet know how many candidates will fill out the forms,” Singh said.
The Commission also rejected claims that Hindi-medium candidates would receive fewer marks, saying candidates are not asked to specify their examination medium in the application form.
“We don’t even ask in the exam form what medium students will take, so where does this data come from?” Singh said.
Clarifying another concern, the BPSC said there is no restriction on awarding more than 60 per cent marks, though marks above that level are subject to rechecking by the Head Examiner.
On the Assistant Engineer recruitment case, Singh said the relevant results could not be released until the ongoing court proceedings are settled.
The Commission also indicated that its examinations would now follow a two-stage format, further fuelling concerns among candidates protesting the TRE-4 pattern.
