Bihar Police resorted to lathicharge on thousands of teacher aspirants in Patna on Thursday as they staged a protest demanding the conduct of the State Teacher Eligibility Test (STET) before the release of vacancies for the fourth phase of the Teacher Recruitment Exam (TRE-4). The protest, which lasted over five hours, turned tense when aspirants attempted to march towards the chief minister's residence via the Dak Bungalow roundabout.
The police initially stopped the protesters at the JP roundabout. However, after demonstrating there for about an hour, the candidates broke the barricades and proceeded forward, prompting the police to lathicharge. Several protesters sustained injuries in the clash.
Even after the lathicharge, many aspirants regrouped at Dak Bungalow crossing, where they were again stopped by barricades. Water cannon vehicles were also deployed at the site. A clash between police and protesters was reported here as well.
More than 5,000 teacher aspirants are estimated to have taken part in the protest. During the demonstration at JP roundabout, the Chief Secretary invited five representatives for a meeting to discuss their demands. Prior to this, some officials had also attempted to engage with the protesters.
The protest march began from Patna College. Holding posters that read "Bihar Demands STET, or No Vote", the aspirants were headed towards the chief minister's residence via Dak Bungalow roundabout when the police intervened.
The protest was triggered by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's August 4 announcement on X (formerly Twitter), where he stated that the TRE-4 examination would be held in 2024 and TRE-5 in 2026. He had added that the STET would only be conducted before TRE-5, effectively pushing it to 2026. This announcement disappointed thousands of aspirants who were awaiting the STET before TRE-4, sparking widespread anger and today's protest.
Why STET Is Important: Explained
A mandatory exam for becoming a government school teacher
If someone wants to become a teacher in government schools from Class 9 to 12 in Bihar, they must have a valid STET (Secondary Teacher Eligibility Test) pass certificate. Without clearing STET, they cannot apply for BPSC Teacher Recruitment Examination (TRE).
Sets the standard for eligibility
STET ensures that aspiring teachers have subject proficiency and teaching skills. It acts as a quality control measure to determine whether candidates are qualified to teach school children.
Separate papers for different subjects
STET includes different papers for various subjects such as Mathematics, Science, Social Science, Hindi, English, Sanskrit, Urdu, and others. For higher secondary teaching, a postgraduate degree in the relevant subject along with a BEd is mandatory.
The first step towards a teaching Job
Clearing STET does not guarantee a job, but it is the basic qualification that allows candidates to participate in the recruitment process. For instance, just as clearing TET (Teacher Eligibility Test) is necessary to become a primary school teacher, passing STET is essential to become a secondary school teacher.