Patna, Aug 25: Protests by teacher-job aspirants against the proposed two-tier format of the Bihar Public Service Commission’s (BPSC) TRE-4 examination intensified on Tuesday, with more than 1,500 students marching towards the Chief Minister’s residence, prompting police to use water cannons and a mild lathi-charge.
The protesters, backed by 17 student organisations, marched from the JP Roundabout near Gandhi Maidan under the “CM House Gherao” call, demanding that the proposed preliminary examination for TRE-4 be scrapped.
Tension escalated when a clash broke out between the protesters and police, leaving Patna Town Deputy Superintendent of Police (II) Kamakhya Narayan Singh and a woman constable injured.
Police detained around 25 students during the demonstration, but all of them were subsequently released without formal charges or arrests.
Heavy barricades were erected at the Dak Bungalow crossing to prevent the protesters from proceeding towards the Chief Minister’s residence.
The latest demonstration comes amid nearly three weeks of agitation by teacher aspirants across Bihar against the proposed two-tier examination system. Aspirants have been holding a continuous dharna at Gardanibagh, the city’s designated protest site, for the past 20 days.
The protesters argue that TRE-1, TRE-2 and TRE-3 were conducted as single-tier competitive examinations and that the same format should be retained for TRE-4.
They also contend that candidates have already cleared the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) or State Teacher Eligibility Test (STET), making an additional preliminary examination redundant and potentially delaying recruitment.
The TRE-4 examination is likely to be held in December 2026 or January 2027.
Following the protest, a delegation of student representatives met Bihar Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit.
“Our meeting with Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit was positive, and we were assured of a favourable response within a couple of days,” student leader Aman Kumar said.
“We reasoned that because candidates are already CTET or STET qualified, introducing a prelims stage for TRE-4 is redundant,” he said.
“Since the previous three recruitment drives followed a single-exam pattern, fair play dictates that TRE-4 should maintain the same format,” Kumar added.
“We also requested the removal of negative marking,” he said.
The aspirants’ 15-point charter of demands includes scrapping negative marking, retaining the single-exam format and filling long-pending vacancies for music teachers and librarians.
The agitation has also triggered action against a senior BPSC official. The Bihar government on Monday suspended BPSC Examination Controller Rajesh Singh after he used the proverb, “Hathi chale bazaar, kutta bhaunke hazaar”, while responding to questions about the protests.
Singh later said the proverb, generally used to suggest staying focused on one’s goals despite criticism, had been quoted out of context.
The protests are expected to continue until the government and BPSC take a decision on the proposed TRE-4 examination format.
