Bihar allows single-stage TRE-4 exam as protesters halt stir

What Happened

The Bihar government agreed to conduct the fourth Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE-4) through a single examination rather than separate preliminary and main rounds. A delegation of 13 student representatives, meeting with senior Education Department officials chaired by the Secretary of the Education Department, unanimously decided to withdraw their ongoing agitation, which had lasted 10 days. The government said further action on the one-candidate-one-result issue would follow applicable rules. The meeting also outlined that a committee, to be chaired by a Patna High Court judge, would examine complaints and suggestions on broader recruitment matters raised in a written memorandum, with subsequent steps to be taken according to the committee’s recommendations.

In addition to the TRE-4 change, discussions covered several other recruitment topics: complaints related to the 70th Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) examination, Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC) recruitments, the sub-inspector recruitment exam, and the Bihar Eligibility Test (BET) would be reviewed by the committee. The 1,799-post sub-inspector recruitment examination would proceed only after the committee submits its report. The government also said the BSSC would publish a recruitment calendar at the earliest and work to conduct examinations on schedule. Action would be taken to initiate the librarian recruitment process where vacancies exist, and a high-level committee would assess the demand for a separate quota in which contractual employees receive marks or weightage in Bihar government recruitment processes, in line with government provisions. On domicile and age-related recruitment policies, the committee would consider these issues with guidance from legal experts and place the maximum age limit and domicile policy questions before it. There was consensus to publish recruitment calendars and ensure adherence to them. The discussion also proposed measures to improve transparency in examination papers, OMR sheets and answer sheets, aligned with practices used in BPSC examinations. Provisions related to paper leaks in BPSC examinations were noted, though specifics were not completed in the cited proceedings.