The student movement in Bihar, which began over requirements related to competitive exams and job recruitment, has reached a complex stage. Initially, the movement was triggered by a single demand—the publication of the BPSC TRE 4.0 notification. However, it has now transformed into a long list of 13 demands.
Activists and student leaders at the demonstration in Gardanibagh, Patna, emphasized that the release of the notification is not the end of the fight, but its beginning.
How Did the Scale of the Movement Expand?
Initially, the students' main slogan was the immediate publication of the TRE 4.0 notification by the Education Department. When students started a sit-in strike, the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) released an advertisement for 32,388 positions under pressure. But after the notification was issued, the scope of the protest expanded. Candidates put forward two new conditions: conducting the exam in only one stage and completely abolishing negative marking. Soon, the total number of demands from various student groups and candidates exceeded 13.
13 Demands Presented to the Government
Among these demands are: conducting the BPSC TRE 4.0 exam in a single-stage format; abolishing negative marking in TRE 4.0 and other teacher recruitment exams; implementing a strict residency policy that prioritizes local residents of Bihar in teacher and state government job recruitment; prompt publication of results and employment contracts for processes delayed for years under BSSC (primary, secondary, and tertiary levels of undergraduate and internship); issuing a new recruitment notification for thousands of librarians in schools and colleges awaiting for many years; ensuring transparency in the examination process through monitoring violations in the 70th BPSC exam; strict measures against mafia involved in leaking exam questions, and excluding blacklisted supplying companies from exams; providing age benefits to all candidates in competitive exams considering the pandemic period and recruitment delays; announcing new vacancies for Bihar police personnel, Inspectors (SI), and Assistant Executive Officers (AEDO); immediate publication of additional/waiting lists for remaining vacant positions in TRE-1, TRE-2, and TRE-3.
Application of UGC 2018 Rules:
Full compliance with UGC 2018 rules is required for hiring guest faculty/assistant professors in universities, as well as setting an age limit of 55 years. They also ask to increase the number of seats in all future government vacancies, including TRE 4.0, according to the actual number of available positions. Furthermore, they demand the immediate withdrawal of First Information Reports (FIRs) and the cessation of police beatings against candidates holding peaceful demonstrations.
'Despite 13 demands, the anger has not subsided; 5 new conditions are now coming into effect.'
The student movement in Gardanibagh, focused on 13 points of demand, was not limited to just an administrative list. As the protest expanded, various student unions and candidates put forward five more new demands. The emergence of these new demands caused a stir in the offices of the Education Department and the Commission.
Here Are 5 New Demands
Firstly, the introduction of a 'one candidate—one result' policy: in large teacher recruitment exams (TRE), the same candidates can occupy multiple categories or subjects, leading to vacant positions. Students demand the use of technology to assign only one final position to a candidate. Secondly, transparency of OMR sheets and answer keys: immediately after the exam, candidates must be provided with carbon copies of their filled OMR sheets, and the official 'answer key' for all questions must be published along with the announcement of cutoff scores. Thirdly, stopping discrimination against candidates taking exams in Hindi: alleged unfair treatment and inequality in grading in the main BPSC civil service exam and interview for Hindi candidates must be immediately stopped. Fourthly, complete abolition of contract weight: additional marks granted to contractual workers when recruited for BSSC CGL and technical posts should be immediately canceled to provide equal opportunities to young people starting from scratch. Finally, the ultimatum of blocking the assembly and indefinite hunger strike: student leaders stated that if a written resolution on the demands is not found, the hunger strike in Gardanibagh will escalate into a blockade of the Bihar Legislative Assembly building.
The situation among students has become complicated because many candidates associated with various recruitment exams (such as assistant professors and PhD scholars) have also taken to the streets with their own demands. Moreover, the arrival of opposition party leaders from the state at the protest site has heightened anxiety in administrative circles.