On Thursday, chaos broke out in Dak Bangla Chauraha in Patna, Bihar, as police used lathicharge to disperse prospective teachers protesting the Secondary Teachers Eligibility Test (STET).
The demonstrators demanded that the STET be held before the Teachers Recruitment Exam (TRE). The STET is an obligatory qualifying test for applicants applying for teaching employment in Bihar. Only those who pass it are entitled to apply for government teaching positions, News18 reports.
Despite the protests by STET applicants in Patna and the ensuing police lathicharge, Education Minister Sunil Kumar stated that the STET exam will only be held when the TRE-04 openings are notified.
He underlined that the administration has taken various critical efforts to improve and bring transparency to Bihar's educational system.
Currently, over four lakh people are awaiting teacher employment through BPSC. Conducting the STET exam at this point would increase the number of pass-outs, complicating the selection process even further.
Kumar also stated that future STET examinations will be held under the previous Bihar Board methodology. He emphasised that the administration is making judgements in the best interests of each candidate and would continue to do so.
Sunil Kumar further stated that the Education Department will shortly make over 6,000 appointments on humanitarian grounds. Furthermore, a proposal has been submitted to BPSC for the employment of 7,000 teachers for Divyang (Persons with Disabilities) students. He stated that the higher education session is now operating on schedule, which improves the quality of instruction in colleges and universities.
