Bihar TRE-4 recruitment row: Candidates protest over reduced vacancies

Patna, Sep 9 (IANS) The ongoing teacher recruitment drive in Bihar turned tense on Tuesday as thousands of aspirants staged a protest against the drastic reduction in vacancies announced for the fourth phase of the Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE-4).

Around 3,000 candidates gathered at Patna College in the morning and began a march towards Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s residence.

The protest route included Khetan Market, Bakarganj, Gandhi Maidan, JP Golambar and Dak Bungalow Square, bringing parts of the city to a standstill.

The candidates raised slogans demanding that the Government Issue a notification for 1.20 lakh teacher posts before September 15, as promised earlier.

They alleged that the government has gone back on its commitment.

The flashpoint came after Education Minister Sunil Kumar, in a statement on September 5, said that only 26,000-plus posts would be filled in this round.

This announcement sparked widespread anger among aspirants, who had been expecting recruitment on a much larger scale.

Student leader Dilip Kumar said that the government’s shifting numbers point to a deeper issue.

“Till the time domicile was not implemented, the government kept inflating the figures - sometimes 50,000, sometimes 80,000, and finally 1.20 lakh. But once domicile rules came into play, the posts were cut down to just 27,910. This is a betrayal of Bihar’s youth,” he alleged.

He further claimed that earlier, higher vacancy numbers were projected to attract candidates from outside states, while now, after the domicile clause, the government has scaled it down unfairly.

Candidates recalled that both the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar and Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary had, on several occasions, publicly assured recruitment to 1.20 lakh teacher posts.

They now accuse the government of backtracking and breaking the trust of unemployed youth who have been preparing for years.

Meanwhile, Bihar Education Minister Sunil Kumar addressed the controversy, stating that the state government remains committed to holding both TRE-4 and TRE-5.

“We have already clarified that there will be an examination for TRE-5 as well. At present, the process is moving forward according to the number of vacancies notified. So far, about 2.5 lakh teachers have been appointed through BPSC,” he said.

With the Assembly elections approaching, the issue of teacher recruitment is set to become politically charged.

Aspirants have threatened to intensify their agitation if the government does not release a fresh notification for the full number of posts.

--IANS

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