PATNA, Sept. 3 -- The Bihar government on Tuesday acceded to the growing demand and announced that the Secondary Teachers' Eligibility Test (STET) would be held prior to Teachers' Recruitment Examination (TRE-4). Education minister Sunil Kumar, talking to media persons, said that the candidates would be able to fill online applications for STET from September 8-16 and after the exams from October 4-25, the result is expected to be announced on November 1. "The TRE-4, to be conducted by the Bihar Public Service Commission (BPSC), would be held from December 16-19 to give opportunities to successful STET candidates and the results would be announced tentatively by January 20-24, 2026," he said. He also announced a fresh opportunity for transfer to teachers from September 5-9 to one of the three options chosen by them through the designated portal, as Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had earlier announced. The transfer exercise would be completed from September 14-18. The new schedule for exams means the conduct of TRE-4 for an estimated one-lakh vacancies of teachers as part of Nitish government's major job push in poll-bound Bihar would be possible only after election, but it has also made thousands of STET aspirants also happy. In keeping with the growing demand from aspirants, the government altered its plan to hold STET prior to TRE-4. The education minister had earlier assured the aspirants to look into their demands. Chief Minister Nitish Kumar had in July directed the education department to identify teachers' vacancy at the earliest to initiate the process for holding TRE-4, with 35% reservation for native woman candidates. The idea was to complete the process before the model code of conduct comes into force, expectedly by the start of October. However, the continued delay in advertisement for vacancies and aspirants' protest and march for STET before TRE-4 led to a rethink on part of the government. The STET has been due and the aspirants had again planned a protest on September 4. In March this year, several candidates had moved the Patna High Court for direction to the board for publication of a comprehensive annual calendar for 2025 disclosing the schedule for the STET and hold it at the earliest, preferably before TRE-4 so that no eligible candidate, including those from the B.Ed 2022-24 session were deprived of the opportunity due to delay in conducting STET. Senior officials of the department, which witnessed transfer and posting at the higher level in recent months, were tight-lipped on the delay, while the time ticked and it became increasingly apparent That TRE-4 would not be possible ahead of the election. The election schedule is likely to be announced any time after the fourth week of September and that does not leave much time to complete the TRE-4 process. The term of the Bihar Assembly ends on November 22 and before that the election process has to be concluded. Earlier, both the CM and education minister Sunil Kumar had categorically stated that STET would be held after TRE-4 but before TRE-5 next year. The department of education had earlier written to the Bihar School Examination Board (BSEB), which holds STET, with guidelines, but things did not move beyond that. Now, the government is likely to issue a notification for STET within the next few days. BSEB conducts STET, which has been held three times so far - in 2011, 2019/2020 and 2023. The government had announced to hold STET twice a year in 2024 and that is also due. The National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) had made STET mandatory for candidates aspiring to teach in secondary and higher secondary schools on July 29, 2011 itself. The Supreme Court also held on Monday that qualifying the Teachers' Eligibility Test (TET) is mandatory for those aspiring to be teachers and also in-service teachers aspiring for promotions. All candidates with a graduation or post-graduation degree and B.Ed degree are eligible for STET to become teachers in secondary and higher secondary schools (Class 9-12). STET has two papers - one for secondary level and another for higher secondary level. Bihar government has carried out large-scale recruitment in schools, the biggest employer in the state....