Patna, May 8 (IANS) A massive demonstration by job aspirants took place in Patna on Friday, protesting the delay in announcing the date for the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) Teachers Recruitment Examination-4 (TRE) 4.0. The protesters called for the prompt issuance of the advertisement.

The protest turned tense near JP Golambar when police resorted to a lathi-charge to disperse the crowd after demonstrators allegedly attempted to breach barricades.

Several students reportedly sustained injuries during the incident. Videos and visuals circulating from the protest reportedly showed police chasing demonstrators through nearby roads, while several aspirants claimed they suffered injuries during the crackdown.

According to an official, nearly 5,000 candidates participated in a march from Patna College to the BPSC office, demanding clarity regarding the release of the TRE-4 notification.

The aspirants accused the commission of repeatedly creating confusion about the advertisement schedule and delaying the recruitment process.

Student leader Dilip Kumar alleged that the commission was misleading more than 1.3 million candidates preparing for the examination.

According to protesting students, BPSC had earlier indicated that the TRE-4 advertisement would be released on April 19 and that the application process would begin around April 25-26. However, even by May 8, the official notification had not been issued.

Agitated candidates gathered in large numbers in Patna to protest the delay and attempted to block roads, demanding immediate action.

The TRE-4 recruitment drive is considered one of the largest teacher recruitment exercises in Bihar in recent years.

A total of 46,882 teaching posts are expected to be filled across multiple departments, including the education department, the backward and extremely backward classes welfare department, the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe welfare department, and the minority welfare department.

The Education Department alone reportedly accounts for the majority of vacancies, including 10,778 posts in Primary Schools (Classes 1-5), 8,583 posts in Middle Schools (Classes 6-8), 9,082 posts in Secondary Schools (Classes 9-10), and 16,774 posts in Higher Secondary Schools (Classes 11-12).

–IANS

ajk/dpb