Updated : 9 hours ago
View Complete Article| Part | Questions | Marks | Counts towards merit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part I - Language | 30 | 30 | No, qualifying at 30 per cent |
| Part II - General Studies | 40 | 40 | Yes |
| Part III - Science | 80 | 80 | Yes |
| Whole paper | 150 | 150 | 120 marks of 150 are ranked |
| Duration | Single sitting | 2 hours 30 minutes | Offline OMR, objective |
| Negative marking | Per wrong answer | 1/3 deducted | Applies to the scored parts |
There is no separate physics, chemistry or biology paper at secondary level: the three sit together in the single 80-question Part III, so a candidate cannot elect out of the branches they did not study. Part II General Studies separately includes general science, which overlaps the subject part but at a lower level. One conflict worth checking: Testbook, Adda247 and PW report one-third negative marking, while two coaching syllabus pages state there is none. Read the structure below as the pattern for the written examination, not as a settled number of stages. BPSC's calendar of 14 August 2026 places TRE 4.0 under two-phase PT plus Mains exams; the Chief Minister announced a single-phase exam on 27 August 2026; and BPSC has published no corrigendum resolving the two as of 22 September 2026. The question paper described here is the one candidates must prepare for either way, because a single-phase exam would use it and a two-phase exam would use it as the main paper.
| What | When | Status |
|---|---|---|
| BPSC exam calendar lists TRE 4.0 as a two-phase PT + Mains recruitment | 14 August 2026 | Confirmed |
| Advertisement 14/2026 for TRE 4.0 released | 18 August 2026 | Confirmed |
| Chief Minister announces a single-phase exam, scrapping PT + Mains | 27 August 2026 | Announced by the state government, not yet ordered by BPSC |
| BPSC corrigendum confirming the final examination pattern | Not published as of 22 September 2026 | Awaited |
| Online application originally to open | 1 September 2026 | Closed |
| Postponement announced, procedural changes cited | Late August 2026 | Confirmed |
| Revised application start date | Not announced; 21 September 2026 reported but unconfirmed | Tentative |
| Original last date for applications | 30 September 2026, lapsed with the postponement | Closed |
| Written examination | Not announced; reported as likely December 2026 to January 2027 | Tentative |
| Earlier circulated exam window of 22 to 27 September 2026 | Superseded, not reconfirmed by BPSC | Closed |
The schedule is common to every subject and every level in TRE 4.0; Science candidates do not get a separate window, admit card date or result date. Everything below the advertisement release should be read as tentative until the commission publishes its revised notice.
Source: India TV News on the postponement · Notifyhere status check, 20 September 2026 · Prepelearn on the earlier exam window · BPSC Exam Calendar dated 14 August 2026 (official) · BPSC notices page, checked 22 September 2026 (official) · Testbook news report on the 27 August announcement (reported)
The single most consequential fact about this paper is that Science at class 9-10 is composite and the degree that qualifies you for it is not. A B.Sc. in Zoology and Botany with Chemistry admits you to an 80-question part in which physics is examined on equal terms, and a physics-chemistry-mathematics graduate meets heredity, evolution and plant physiology. Most candidates lose marks not in their own branch but in the third of the paper they have not touched since school.
Part III is a single 80-question block covering physics, chemistry and biology together, with no internal optionality. BSSEI's topic list gives the physics side as force, motion, laws of motion, light, electricity, magnetism, sound and forms of energy; chemistry as the nature of matter, atomic structure, chemical reactions, acids, bases and salts, and metals and non-metals; and biology as cell structure, tissues, life processes including nutrition and respiration, reproduction, heredity and evolution, and basic ecology. That is recognisably the NCERT class 9 and 10 Science course. If the three are weighted roughly evenly, around 26 or 27 questions sit in each, so an entirely abandoned branch is a ceiling of about 53 out of 80 before a single mistake.
The arithmetic favours breadth sharply. Moving from 60 to 80 per cent accuracy in your own branch buys roughly five marks; taking an abandoned branch from guesswork to school-level competence buys twenty or more, and with one-third negative marking it also removes the guessing losses. For a life-sciences graduate the cheapest ground is class 10 physics numericals on motion, electricity and light, which are formulaic and few. For a physical-sciences graduate it is class 10 biology, which is almost entirely recall: life processes, control and coordination, heredity, and the ecology chapter. Neither requires graduate texts. Two NCERT volumes and their exercises cover the ground the syllabus actually names.
Science has 463 of the 3,877 secondary vacancies. Its historical cut-off sits below Social Science and Urdu in both published sets: Careerpower's TRE 3.0 class 9-10 tables show unreserved male and female Science at 73 where Social Science was 83, with EBC male 63 and SC female 43, and a second compilation shows Science unreserved at 50 against Social Science 74, EWS 48, BC 45, EBC 41, and SC and ST both 39. The likely explanation is the composite paper itself depressing scores across the pool rather than a shortage of applicants. Practically, the line is reachable, but it is reached by candidates who scored evenly across all three branches rather than brilliantly in one.
Part II is 40 questions and does count towards merit, and Testbook's account of its contents is elementary mathematics, general awareness, general science, the Indian National Movement and geography. Science candidates routinely assume the general science component makes this part free marks. It does not: general science is one strand of five, and the Indian National Movement and Bihar-focused awareness questions are where a science graduate is weakest. Budget real preparation time for the history and current-affairs strands. Forty marks out of a ranked 120 is a third of the score, and it is the part where Social Science candidates in the same recruitment have a structural advantage over you.
The secondary posts require graduation with 50 per cent, or 45 per cent with a one-year B.Ed, plus B.Ed, and the degree must carry the relevant science subjects; Careerpower describes the qualifying combinations as physics, chemistry, electronics, computer science and statistics groups, or zoology, botany and chemistry groups. CTET Paper-II or Bihar TET Paper-II is also required, and holders of Paper-I only are not eligible at this level. Part I, 30 questions for 30 marks, is compulsory English plus one of Hindi, Urdu or Bengali, qualifying at 30 per cent and excluded from merit. Reported pay is Rs 31,000 a month; age 21 to 37 with category relaxation up to 42.
Yes. At class 9-10 level Science is a single composite subject and Part III puts all three branches into one 80-question block with no internal choice. BSSEI's published topic list names physics topics such as motion, light, electricity and sound, chemistry topics such as atomic structure and acids, bases and salts, and biology topics such as cell structure, life processes, heredity and ecology. A graduate in only one of the three is examined on all three, which is the central difficulty of this particular paper.
Subject-wise tables reproduced from Advertisement 14/2026 by Testbook and Notifyhere put secondary Science at 463 posts within 3,877 class 9-10 vacancies and 32,388 overall. That places Science third among the four large secondary subjects, above Sanskrit on 322 but below Urdu on 660 and Social Science on 756. BPSC has not issued a subject-wise release of its own, and since the commission has said the recruitment is being revised, the figure could change in the amended advertisement.
One offline objective paper of 150 questions and 150 marks in 2 hours 30 minutes. Part I is 30 questions of language, compulsory English plus Hindi, Urdu or Bengali, qualifying at 30 per cent and excluded from merit. Part II is 40 questions of General Studies covering elementary mathematics, general awareness, general science, the Indian National Movement and geography. Part III is 80 questions of Science. Most sources report one-third negative marking per wrong answer, though a minority state there is none.
Careerpower's TRE 3.0 secondary tables show unreserved male and female Science at 73 marks, EBC male 63 and SC female 43. A second published compilation gives Science unreserved 50, EWS 48, BC 45, BCL 43, EBC 41 and both SC and ST 39. Both sets place Science below Social Science and Urdu in the same round. These are coaching compilations from an earlier cycle with a different vacancy count, so treat them as orientation rather than a TRE 4.0 target.
Eligibility and examinability are different questions. Careerpower describes the qualifying degree combinations for the secondary science post as including zoology, botany and chemistry groups as well as physics, chemistry and allied groups, alongside B.Ed and CTET or BTET Paper-II. So a biology-led B.Sc. can make you eligible. The paper, however, tests physics and chemistry at class 9-10 level regardless, so eligibility does not translate into coverage and the physics portion has to be prepared from school material.
No date has been announced. The window was to open on 1 September 2026 and the commission postponed it citing procedural changes, saying revised dates would come shortly. A 21 September restart circulated on coaching sites but was still unconfirmed on 20 September 2026, and the exam has been reported as likely to fall between December 2026 and January 2027. The calendar is common to every subject and level in TRE 4.0, so there is no separate Science window.