By Agartala Correspondent | Tripura 24.in AGARTALA | April 7, 2026
AGARTALA: Tensions flared in the capital today as dozens of unemployed TET-2 (GT) qualified candidates staged a high-decibel protest in front of the official residence of Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy. The protesters are demanding the immediate increase of sanctioned vacant posts to ensure the simultaneous recruitment of all remaining qualified aspirants.
The demonstration, which began on Tuesday morning, saw candidates raising slogans against the “selective recruitment” process and calling for “justice for all 1,488 qualifiers.”
The Math of Discontent
The core grievance of the agitating youth centers on the discrepancy between the number of qualified candidates and the current recruitment quota. According to the protesters, out of the total 1,488 candidates who successfully cleared the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) for Graduate Teachers (GT), the government is currently moving forward with the appointment of only 1,010 individuals.
Key Demands of the Protesters:
- Simultaneous Recruitment: Instead of multiple phases, the candidates want a single notification absorbing all 1,488 qualifiers.
- Vacancy Increase: An immediate administrative order to increase the number of posts for TET-2 (GT) from 1,010 to at least 1,500.
- Prevention of Over-age: Many candidates highlighted that they are nearing the upper age limit for government service and may be permanently disqualified if not recruited in this batch.
“No One Should Be Left Behind”
One of the lead protesters stated that while they appreciate the start of the recruitment process for 1,010 posts, leaving out nearly 480 qualified individuals creates an atmosphere of uncertainty and “merit suppression.”
”We have all passed the same exam and cleared the same cut-off. Why should nearly 500 of us be left to wait for an uncertain future? The schools in our state are suffering from a shortage of teachers, so the vacancies clearly exist. We demand that the Finance and Education departments coordinate to ensure that every single TET-qualified candidate gets their appointment letter together,” a protestor asserted.
Police Action and Detainment
As the protest intensified and a crowd gathered near the high-security zone of the Minister’s residence, the Agartala City Police intervened. After several unsuccessful attempts to persuade the group to move to the designated protest site at Paradise Choumuhani, security forces began detaining the agitators.
Incident Timeline:
- 10:30 AM: Protesters gather near the Finance Minister’s gate.
- 11:45 AM: Police issue the first warning to disperse.
- 12:15 PM: A scuffle breaks out as police push back the crowd.
- 12:30 PM: Protesters are loaded into police vans and moved to the AD Nagar Police Ground.
Political Context
This protest follows a series of similar movements by TET-I and JRBT aspirants over the last few months. With the TTAADC elections and Dharmanagar bye-poll scheduled for April 12, the issue of “Unemployment and Recruitment” has become a central campaign theme for both the ruling BJP and the opposition Left Front.
While the Education Department has recently initiated merit verification for 2,056 teaching posts (combined TET-I and TET-II), the specific demand for the “GT” category remains a point of friction.
