Patna: Police resorted to lathicharge on Thursday after thousands of teacher aspirants protesting in Patna broke through barricades in a bid to march towards the Chief Minister’s residence. The demonstration turned violent at JP Golambar, where protesters clashed with security forces, leaving several injured, including some with head and facial wounds.
Over 5,000 candidates had gathered in the state capital to demand the immediate conduct of the State Teacher Eligibility Test (STET) before the upcoming Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE-4), scheduled for 2025. They claim a delay in STET would disqualify thousands of eligible candidates from participating in the recruitment process.
The protest began at Patna College and moved towards Dakbungla Chauraha, from where demonstrators attempted to reach the CM’s residence. Police halted their march by erecting barricades at JP Golambar, leading to a tense standoff that lasted nearly an hour. Protesters eventually breached the barricades, prompting police to use force.
Despite the crackdown, protestors regrouped at Dakbungla Chauraha, waving placards with slogans such as “Bihar Mange STET” and “STET Nahi Toh Vote Nahi.” Water cannons were deployed, and both male and female demonstrators were seen climbing over barricades, chanting slogans and calling for the government to reverse its decision.
Amid the unrest, Bihar’s Chief Secretary invited five representatives from the protestors for talks, while some officials reached the protest site to initiate dialogue.
The protest follows a recent announcement by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar on social media platform X, where he stated that TRE-4 would be held in 2025 and TRE-5 in 2026. He also mentioned that STET would be conducted before TRE-5 — effectively pushing the eligibility exam to 2026.
The announcement has angered aspirants, especially B.Ed and BTC trainees from the 2022–2024 and 2023–2025 sessions, who say they will be ineligible for TRE-4 if STET is not held earlier.
“Our entire preparation was based on the expectation that STET would be held before TRE-4,” said one protestor. “Now our future is uncertain. The delay will waste an entire academic year and disqualify thousands of eligible candidates.”
Another aspirant added, “When the board had said STET would be held twice a year, why this long gap now?”
