Students protest in Patna seeking domicile-based jobs, teacher recruitment notification

Patna: Hundreds of students marched through the streets of Patna on Friday, demanding the immediate release of the fourth phase teacher recruitment notification and the implementation of a domicile policy for all Bihar government jobs.

Led by student leader Dilip Kumar, the protest procession began from Patna College and made its way to the Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s residence via Musallahpur Haat, raising slogans and holding placards.

The protestors were demanding early release of the fourth phase of teacher recruitment, domicile policy in all government jobs, reserving 90 per cent of jobs for local (Bihar) candidates and 10 per cent open quota for applicants from outside the state.

They also demanded inclusion of a 100-mark paper on Bihar in state government job exams to ensure applicants know about the state’s culture, history, and administration.

This marks the third major protest in the past two months on the same issue, signalling growing discontent among Bihar’s youth.

“We’ve been raising our voices for months. Government jobs are the only hope left for Bihar’s youth. If the government listens, we’ll support Nitish Kumar. If not, we will campaign against him in the coming elections,” said Dilip Kumar, student leader.

“If Biharis vote and outsiders get the jobs, then we will not stay silent. If Nitish Kumar accepts our demand, we will support him village to village. Otherwise, we’ll oppose him,” said Rahul Kumar, a protesting student from Sheohar.

The district administration had deployed a heavy police presence and riot control vehicles at JP Golambar and CM House to avoid any untoward incident.

Traffic was affected in central Patna due to the large turnout of students.

The students are reportedly threatening to turn their discontent into an anti-government campaign during the upcoming 2025 Bihar Assembly elections

IANS