PATNA, May 9 -- Thousands of aspirants demanding the release of advertisement for the fourth phase of teachers' recruitment exam (TRE-4)by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC) on Friday took to the streets in Patna leading to blockade and the police had to resort to lathicharge to contain the situation and clear the road. Some students sustained injuries. The students alleged that the BPSC had been dilly-dallying despite assurances and the students had no more patience. "The last BPSC deadline was April 19 for the advertisement, but even that did not happen," they added. In February, giving the government reply on the education department budget, former education minister Sunil Kumar had categorically said on the floor of the Vidhan Sabha that the department would soon carry out recruitment of around 46,000 teachers through Teachers' Recruitment Exam (TRE-4). This statement came barely a week after the BPSC received the requisition from the General Administration Department (GAD) for the long pending TRE-4 and said that the advertisement would come soon. This would be the first exam for teachers after the implementation of the domicile policy. In a pre-Assembly election announcement, the then chief minister Nitish Kumar had in August, 2025 announced preference to domicile in teachers' recruitment. TRE-4 has been pending for a long time and was a big issue ahead of the Assembly election also, but it got delayed for one reason or the other, including demand for conduct of Secondary Teachers' Eligibility Test (STET) prior to TRE-4. The STET was eventually held in October-November, 2025. Chief minister Nitish Kumar had in July 2025 directed the education department to identify teachers' vacancy at the earliest to initiate the process for holding TRE-4. In TRE-1 & 2, 170,000 and 70,000 teachers were appointed, while in TRE-3 against 87,774 vacancies, only 66,603 could be filled. New education minister Mithilesh Tiwari said that agitation was not the solution. "The government is sensitive. I have just joined. I will look into the matter, discuss it with the aspirants and resolve it," he added. Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Prasad Yadav had a dig at the government over lathi charge. "The NDA leaders made their children ministers without participating in the electoral process. But lakhs of youth of Bihar, who have studied hard for years, were promised before the elections that TRE-4 vacancies would be released. But even 6 months after the formation of the government, the advertisement has not come out. When they raise their genuine demand and remind them of their promise, they get beaten up," he said, while talking to media persons. Congress joined the criticism, strongly condemning police action on the TRE-4 aspirants. Bihar Pradesh Congress Committee (BPCC) president Rajesh Ram launched a sharp attack on the state government, describing its handling of protesting teacher candidates as "dictatorial" and "barbaric." He said the lathi charge on aspirants demanding their rightful appointments was unacceptable and violated constitutional values. Ram expressed particular anguish over reports of women candidates being beaten with sticks and even shoes, calling it shameful and condemnable. The Congress leader questioned the government's claims of generating millions of jobs when its treasury was empty and it was surviving on heavy monthly borrowing. He demanded immediate issuance of appointment letters to all qualified TRE-4 candidates who had cleared the examination. "If the government is serious about employment, why is it harassing these deserving young people instead of giving them their due?" Ram asked, urging an end to the suppression of democratic protests....