By Agartala Correspondent | Tripura 24.in AGARTALA | May 7, 2026
AGARTALA: Frustration among the state’s unemployed youth boiled over today as hundreds of candidates who successfully cleared the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET-1 and TET-2) gathered once again at Shiksha Bhavan. The demonstrators, representing a large pool of qualified aspirants, demanded that the state government initiate a “simultaneous and mass recruitment” drive to fill thousands of vacant teaching positions across Tripura.
The protest comes amidst reports of an acute shortage of teachers in government-run schools, particularly in rural and TTAADC areas, where many institutions are reportedly functioning with just a single educator.
Key Demands of the Protesters
The aspirants, many of whom have been waiting for appointment letters for over a year, presented a two-point charter of demands to the education authorities.
- Immediate Publication of Recommended Lists: Candidates urged the government to release the Under-Graduate Teacher (UGT) and Graduate Teacher (GT) merit lists for those who have already cleared the verification process.
- Mass Absorption: They demanded that the government increase the number of advertised posts from the current limit (approx. 1,020 – 1,033) to accommodate all 1,400+ qualified individuals from the 2024-25 batches.
- One-Time Recruitment: A plea for the simultaneous appointment of both TET-1 (Primary) and TET-2 (Upper Primary) qualifiers to streamline the hiring process.
“Qualified but Deprived”: Voice of the Aspirants
Speaking to the media outside the Director of School Education’s office, several candidates expressed their growing anxiety over age-eligibility limits.
”We have cleared the hardest eligibility tests in the state, yet we are forced to beg for our rights. Many of us are nearing the upper age limit for government service. If the recommended lists are not published soon, our hard-earned certificates will become mere pieces of paper. We are not asking for a favor; we are asking to serve the children of Tripura,” one protester stated.
Impact on the Education System
The union of TET-qualified candidates highlighted that the delay in recruitment is directly affecting the academic performance of students. They pointed out that while the Teachers’ Recruitment Board, Tripura (TRBT) is expected to release the T-TET 2026 notification soon, thousands from previous years remain unemployed. This “bottleneck” in hiring has led to repeated protests throughout the months of February and April 2026.
Official Response and Escalation
While senior officials from the Education Department received a deputation from the candidates, no concrete timeline was provided for the issuance of appointment letters. The protesters warned that if a definitive notification is not issued by the end of May, they will be forced to launch an indefinite hunger strike and intensify their movement across all eight districts.
As the day concluded, the gathered youth vowed to return to the streets, emphasizing that the “battle for a dignified profession” would continue until every qualified teacher is placed in a classroom.
