Teacher aspirants demanding vacancy hike baton-charged in Patna

Patna: Teacher aspirants in Patna once again took to the streets on Tuesday, demanding an increase in vacancies to 1.2 lakh for the upcoming Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE)-4.The demonstration, which started from Patna College, was stopped by authorities at the Dak Bungalow roundabout. A delegation of five students was sent to meet the additional chief secretary of the education department. However, when the remaining protesters refused to disperse, police used water cannons and baton-charged them to clear the roundabout. In the incident, a few protesters were injured and eight, including student leader Dilip Kumar, were detained.Dilip said the govt had promised 1.2 lakh vacancies for TRE-4. “That is what we are demanding—to release the promised vacancies before Sept 15. Additionally, we also demand a one-candidate-one-result policy and verification of certificates before the TRE-4 results are announced,” he said.“We are peacefully putting forward our demand, and we will try our best to convince the govt to fulfil it,” said Kundan Kumar Yadav, an aspirant from Patna.

Another aspirant expressed gratitude for the govt’s earlier decision to implement a domicile policy, hoping it would be equally receptive to their current demands.SDPO (Law and Order-I) Krishna Murari Prasad said a delegation comprising five protesters, including two women and three men, was sent to meet officials. “However, the others insisted they would not leave until the delegation members returned,” he said.