TET Recruitment Crisis : Jitendra Chowdhury Slams Government After Water-Cannon Action on Job Aspirants
By Our Correspondent
Agartala, September 25, 2026
The prolonged uncertainty over the recruitment of Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) qualified candidates in Tripura has once again escalated into a major political and administrative controversy after police used water cannons to disperse protesting job aspirants at Shiksha Bhavan in Agartala on Thursday.
The protest was organised by candidates who qualified in the 2024 TET-I and TET-II examinations, with the aspirants demanding immediate recruitment of all 1,856 candidates whom they say have completed the required stages of the recruitment process. The demonstrators demanded publication of the merit/recommendation list and completion of recruitment against government-designated Graduate Teacher (GT) and Under Graduate Teacher (UT) vacancies.
The situation turned tense when police deployed water cannons to disperse the gathering. According to multiple reports, around 100 protesters were detained and taken to the AD Nagar Police Lines. Police said that mild force was used and that water cannons were deployed after concerns arose over the situation on the busy Office Lane road.
Leader of the Opposition Jitendra Chowdhury has sharply criticised the incident and used it to raise broader questions about the functioning of the present government, particularly its handling of education, employment and administrative affairs.
In his reaction, Chowdhury reportedly pointed to the “extreme degradation” of the state’s present education, employment and administrative systems, arguing that the confrontation involving TET-qualified job seekers reflected a serious crisis in the government’s approach to unemployed youths.
The Opposition leader questioned the circumstances under which candidates who had qualified in a government-conducted eligibility examination and were demanding employment had reached a situation where police action and water cannons were used against them.
His criticism came against the backdrop of growing frustration among TET-qualified aspirants, many of whom say they have been waiting for recruitment for a prolonged period despite having cleared the examinations.
The protesting candidates maintained that after clearing TET-I and TET-II in 2024, they entered the subsequent recruitment process and that document verification involving approximately 1,856 candidates had already been completed.
However, according to the protesters, the final recommended or merit list has not yet been published, leaving them uncertain about their appointment prospects. They have repeatedly approached the recruitment authorities seeking a clear timeline for completion of the process.
The candidates have also demanded that the government recruit all 1,856 eligible candidates together rather than introduce another selection process at this stage.
They have claimed that repeated attempts to meet Chief Minister Prof. Dr. Manik Saha and Finance Minister Pranajit Singha Roy to discuss the matter have not resulted in a meeting.
The use of water cannons has now become a fresh point of contention.
Reports indicate that protesters were attempting to press their demands before the concerned recruitment authorities when the situation escalated. Police subsequently moved to disperse the gathering and detained a number of participants.
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