Bihar teacher recruitment protest turns violent in Patna

Hundreds of job aspirants clashed with police in Patna on Tuesday, August 25, 2026, during a march toward the Chief Minister's residence, as tensions escalated over proposed changes to a major teaching recruitment exam. The confrontation occurred near the Dak Bungalow crossing as protesters attempted to break through barricades, prompting authorities to deploy water cannons and a mild lathicharge to disperse the crowd.

The demonstration, which began at Gandhi Maidan, was primarily organized by aspirants for the Bihar Public Service Commission's Teacher Recruitment Examination, known as TRE4. Their central demand is the rollback of a proposed two-tier format for the exam, which would introduce a preliminary test. They argue that since candidates have already cleared the Central or State Teacher Eligibility Test, adding a preliminary stage is redundant and delays recruitment. Previous iterations of the exam were conducted as single-stage competitive tests. The protesters also call for the removal of negative marking and the cancellation of the 70th BPSC examination over alleged irregularities.

During the march, violence erupted when a wooden stick was thrown from the crowd,...