Updates as of September 22, 2026
Biology at Classes 11 to 12 is advertised as two separate posts under TRE 4.0, not one. Botany carries 1,078 vacancies and Zoology 449, a combined 1,527 of the 16,101 senior secondary posts in Advertisement No. 14/2026. A candidate must choose the stream at application, and the Part III paper is set on the stream chosen.
Testbook (coaching, reported)The number of stages in TRE 4.0 is unresolved, and it is the single biggest open question in this cycle. BPSC's own exam calendar, dated 14 August 2026, lists TRE 4.0 at serial 30 with 32,388 vacancies under the heading 2 PHASE EXAMS (PT + MAINS), and records the exam date as TBD with the remark that the date of the PT shall be published after the completion of the advertisement period. On that document, TRE 4.0 is a two-stage recruitment with a screening preliminary test.
BPSC Exam Calendar dated 14 August 2026 (official)On 27 August 2026, nine days after Advertisement 14/2026 was issued, Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary announced that TRE 4.0 would be held in a single phase, scrapping the PT and Mains structure. The announcement followed a campaign by candidate representatives under the slogan One Exam, One Result. This is a state government statement rather than a BPSC order, and it directly contradicts the Commission's own calendar.
Testbook news report on the 27 August announcement (reported)As of 22 September 2026, BPSC has published no corrigendum on the TRE 4.0 examination pattern. The Commission's notices page carries corrigenda for the 72nd CCE and notices on the Stenographer examination and the new fifth answer option, but nothing on TRE. The 14 August calendar still shows PT plus Mains and has not been revised. The unresolved pattern is the most plausible reason the application window was postponed for procedural changes, and candidates should expect the revised pattern and the reopened window to be announced together.
BPSC notices page, checked 22 September 2026 (official)The Biology streams sit in the middle of the senior secondary vacancy table. Against Botany's 1,078 and Zoology's 449, Physics is reported at 1,758 and Mathematics at 657, while Chemistry is by some distance the largest science opening, reported in the high three thousands with figures differing between trackers. Zoology is among the smallest senior secondary subject pools in the advertisement.
Prepp (coaching, reported)The subject section is 80 questions of 80 marks within a 150-question, 150-mark paper of 2 hours 30 minutes. Reported syllabus coverage for the Biology streams runs to cell biology, genetics, evolution, plant and animal physiology and ecology, described by coaching summaries as pitched at postgraduate rather than school level. The authoritative list is the syllabus annexed to Advertisement 14/2026.
BPSC Advertisement 14/2026 (official PDF)Eligibility for the Biology posts follows the senior secondary rule: a master's degree in the concerned subject with 50 per cent marks plus B.Ed, or a master's with 55 per cent plus the three-year integrated B.Ed-M.Ed course, together with STET Paper 2. A Botany postgraduate cannot apply against Zoology posts, or the reverse, so the degree stream fixes which of the two vacancy pools is available.
Career Power (coaching, reported)The shared cycle has slipped. The application window announced as 01 to 30 September 2026 was postponed for procedural changes, with a revised 21 September 2026 opening reported but not confirmed, and no examination date announced. This affects Biology candidates on the same terms as every other subject in the recruitment.
Career Power (coaching, reported)A vacancy figure of 46,595 is circulating on job-alert aggregators for TRE 4.0. None of the aggregators carrying it cites an advertisement number or a date, and it is contradicted by both official BPSC documents that do carry a number: Advertisement 14/2026 of 18 August 2026 and the exam calendar of 14 August 2026, which state 32,388. Until BPSC publishes a corrigendum, 32,388 is the figure to plan against.
BPSC Exam Calendar dated 14 August 2026 (official)The Higher Secondary Biology paper at a glance
| Component | Questions | Marks | Counts towards merit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part I, language (English with Hindi, Urdu or Bangla) | 30 | 30 | No, qualifying at a reported 30 per cent |
| Part II, general studies | 40 | 40 | Yes |
| Part III, Biology in the chosen stream (Botany or Zoology) | 80 | 80 | Yes |
| Whole paper, single sitting of 2 hours 30 minutes | 150 | 150 | 120 marks of the 150 |
Botany and Zoology are separate posts with separate vacancy pools, 1,078 and 449 respectively, and the Part III section is set on the stream applied for. Reported negative marking is one third of a mark per wrong answer, although one coaching summary of the Biology paper states there is none, which is reason to read the advertisement rather than a summary. Only 120 of the 150 marks enter the merit list. 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.
Dates and windows
| What | When | Status |
|---|---|---|
| BPSC exam calendar lists TRE 4.0 as a two-phase PT + Mains recruitment | 14 August 2026 | Confirmed |
| Advertisement No. 14/2026 released, Biology posts included | 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 |
| District-wise vacancy PDF for Classes 11 to 12 published | 18 August 2026 | Confirmed |
| Original application window | 01 September to 30 September 2026 | Closed |
| Revised opening of online applications | 21 September 2026, as reported | Tentative |
| Revised last date for applications | Not announced; October 2026 as reported | Tentative |
| Written examination for Higher Secondary Biology | Not announced | Tentative |
| STET Paper 2 qualification for self-declaration applicants | Before the test is held, date not announced | Tentative |
This schedule is common to every subject in TRE 4.0, from Primary through Higher Secondary; there is no separate Biology notification, window or sitting. Only the advertisement and vacancy PDFs are firm, and every forward date remains reported rather than confirmed.
What this means for your preparation
Biology candidates most often assume they are applying for one Biology post. They are not: Botany and Zoology are advertised separately, at 1,078 and 449 vacancies, and the postgraduate degree determines which pool is open. The second recurring error is preparing the subject section at school level. Coaching summaries of the TRE Biology syllabus describe it as postgraduate in depth, reaching genetics, microbiology, biotechnology, molecular biology and plant physiology, not the Class 11 and 12 textbook a successful candidate will go on to teach.
Zoology is a small pool and Botany is not
The 449 Zoology posts are among the smallest senior secondary subject openings in Advertisement 14/2026, against 1,078 for Botany, 1,758 reported for Physics and Chemistry in the high three thousands. The practical effect is that a Zoology candidate's cut-off is set by a much shallower vacancy pool, so the same raw score can carry a Botany candidate and not a Zoology one in the same cycle. The district-wise PDF for Classes 11 to 12 matters more than usual here: a subject with 449 posts spread across 38 districts leaves many districts with single-figure openings.
The subject section is set above the teaching level
Part III is 80 questions on Botany or Zoology, and the eligibility bar is a master's degree with 50 per cent, or 55 per cent with the integrated B.Ed-M.Ed. Coaching descriptions of the syllabus list the concerned subject as a postgraduate combination taking in life science, bioscience, genetics, microbiology, biotechnology, molecular biology and plant physiology, with cell biology, evolution, plant and animal physiology and ecology named as core areas. A candidate revising from NCERT Class 11 and 12 alone is revising below the level the questions are set at. The syllabus annexed to Advertisement 14/2026 is the document to work from.
Forty general studies marks decide more Biology results than Biology does
Biology postgraduates routinely score well in Part III and then separate on Part II. General studies carries 40 questions covering elementary mathematics, general awareness, general science, the Indian national movement, geography and environment, and it counts fully towards merit. Against a Part III in which strong candidates cluster, the 40 general studies marks have far more spread and therefore far more discriminating power. The general science portion overlaps with a Biology graduate's own field only in part; the mathematics, history and geography portions do not overlap at all and need separate, scheduled time.
Do not spend marks on the language paper
Part I is 30 questions of English with Hindi, Urdu or Bangla, qualifying only at a reported 30 per cent, and nothing scored above that threshold reaches the merit list. Science candidates commonly treat it either as free marks worth polishing or as something to be skipped, and both are mistakes. Falling below the threshold voids an otherwise qualifying performance; overinvesting in it takes minutes from a 150-minute paper in which 120 marks are live. Allocate a fixed slice, confirm a comfortable margin above the bar, and return to Parts II and III.
Your degree stream, not your interest, fixes the application
Because Botany and Zoology are separate posts with separate papers, the master's subject decides where the application goes; a Zoology postgraduate cannot switch to the larger Botany pool because the vacancy count is better. STET Paper 2 in the corresponding subject is required alongside the degree and B.Ed. TRE 4.0 allows STET 2026 candidates to apply on self-declaration provided they qualify before the test, but with no examination date announced that concession cannot be planned around. Confirm the stream, the STET subject and the degree percentage before One Time Registration rather than after.
Common questions
How many Biology vacancies are there in BPSC TRE 4.0 for Classes 11 to 12?
Biology is advertised as two separate posts. Botany carries 1,078 vacancies and Zoology 449, a combined 1,527 out of the 16,101 senior secondary posts in Advertisement No. 14/2026 of 18 August 2026. There is no single combined Biology post. District-wise breakdowns for Classes 11 to 12 were published as a separate PDF on the Commission's site on the same date as the advertisement.
What is the exam pattern for BPSC TRE Higher Secondary Biology?
One objective paper of 150 questions and 150 marks in 2 hours 30 minutes. Part I is language, 30 questions, qualifying only at a reported 30 per cent. Part II is general studies, 40 questions. Part III is the concerned subject, Botany or Zoology, 80 questions. Reported negative marking is one third of a mark per wrong answer, though coaching summaries differ on this point. Merit rests on the 120 marks in Parts II and III.
Is the TRE Biology syllabus at Class 11 and 12 level or postgraduate level?
Coaching summaries of the TRE 4.0 subject syllabus describe the Classes 11 to 12 Biology section as pitched at postgraduate level rather than at the NCERT school level, listing life science, bioscience, genetics, microbiology, biotechnology, molecular biology and plant physiology, with cell biology, evolution, plant and animal physiology and ecology as core areas. These are secondary descriptions. The syllabus annexed to Advertisement 14/2026 on the BPSC site is the authoritative list and should be read directly.
Can a Zoology postgraduate apply for the Botany posts in BPSC TRE?
No. Botany and Zoology are advertised as distinct posts with distinct vacancy pools of 1,078 and 449, and eligibility for senior secondary posts requires a master's degree in the concerned subject with 50 per cent, or 55 per cent with the three-year integrated B.Ed-M.Ed, along with STET Paper 2. The Part III section is set on the stream applied for, so the degree subject decides which of the two pools a candidate can compete in.
Is STET compulsory for BPSC TRE Higher Secondary Biology?
Reports on Advertisement 14/2026 describe STET Paper 2 as the certification requirement for Classes 11 to 12 posts, alongside the master's degree and B.Ed. TRE 4.0 is reported to allow candidates appearing in STET 2026 to apply on self-declaration, provided they qualify before the examination is held. Since no examination date has been announced, that route carries real risk and should not be assumed to leave a usable margin.
When is the BPSC TRE Biology exam and is the form open?
There is no separate Biology schedule; Biology follows the common TRE 4.0 cycle. The window announced as 01 to 30 September 2026 was postponed for procedural changes, with a revised opening of 21 September 2026 reported by coaching trackers but not confirmed in any official document read here, and the closing date still unannounced. No examination date has been released for any subject in the recruitment.
