Alerts and Updates for BPSC TRE Higher Secondary History

The higher secondary History paper at a glance

History shares ground with the General Studies section in a way most subjects do not. Part II at this level is reported to cover elementary mathematics, general awareness, general science, the Indian national movement and geography, so the freedom-struggle material a History candidate already knows reappears there for marks that do count. The 80 questions of Part III are the degree-level paper, reported as ancient, medieval and modern India with world history and the history of Bihar. Part I, combining English with one of Hindi, Urdu or Bangla, is qualifying at 30 per cent and excluded from merit. One-third negative marking is reported by most portals; one syllabus write-up says there is none, so verify it in the Commission's notification. 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

This schedule is common to every subject and every level in TRE 4.0, so the History paper has no notification, application window or examination date of its own. Nothing here is fixed until BPSC issues the revised advertisement and then a separate examination notification.

What this means for your preparation

History candidates commonly assume that because the subject overlaps General Studies, the General Studies section will look after itself. The overlap is real but partial: it covers the Indian national movement and little else. The larger misjudgement is about level. The 80 subject questions are degree and post-graduate history, and in TRE 3.0 unreserved History candidates selected at 76 out of 150, a score that leaves almost no room for guesswork under negative marking.

The General Studies overlap is narrower than it looks

General Studies at higher secondary level is reported to include the Indian national movement alongside elementary mathematics, general awareness, general science and geography. For a History candidate the national-movement questions are effectively free, and they matter, because General Studies supplies 40 of the 120 counting marks. But the freedom struggle is one strand of five. The elementary mathematics and general science questions are where History candidates lose the section, and they are also the cheapest to fix, resting on a fixed senior secondary body of material. A History candidate who prepares only the historical strand of Part II is leaving twenty or more accessible marks on the table.

Where the eighty subject marks actually sit

The class 11-12 History syllabus is reported as ancient, medieval and modern India together with world history and the history of Bihar. In an eighty-question objective paper, modern India and the national movement typically carry the largest share because the material is dense with dates, sessions, acts, commissions and named individuals that convert directly into single-line questions. Ancient and medieval India reward source and inscription knowledge, dynastic chronology and the architecture and administration of specific regimes. The Bihar strand, from Magadha and the Mauryas through Pataliputra, the Pala period and Bihar's role in the freedom struggle, is finite and disproportionately worth learning thoroughly.

A cut-off of 76 with negative marking discourages guessing

TRE 3.0 higher secondary History closed at 76 for unreserved men, 73 for unreserved women and EWS men, 71 for EWS women, 68 for Extremely Backward Class candidates of both sexes, 59 for Scheduled Caste, and 43 and 51 for Scheduled Tribe men and women. With one-third of a mark deducted per wrong answer as reported, three uncertain guesses cancel one correct answer. At a closing score around 76 out of 120 counting marks, the difference between selection and rejection is a handful of marks, so a disciplined attempt policy on the questions where two options cannot be eliminated matters as much as additional reading.

The vacancy figure is not yet stable

Two portals report 608 higher secondary History posts and a third reports 696. That is a meaningful gap for a candidate deciding how realistic the attempt is, and it is the only one of the four main humanities subjects where the reported counts diverge by that much. Geography is reported consistently at 176 and Hindi at 739, while English varies between 1,321 and 1,358. BPSC has indicated a revised advertisement is coming, which is the document that will settle the History allocation along with the closing date. No preparation decision should be built on either figure until then.

Part I is a threshold, and the STET subject must match

Part I combines English with one of Hindi, Urdu or Bangla across 30 questions, qualifying at 30 per cent, marks excluded from merit. For a History candidate this is simply a bar to clear, unlike the English and Hindi papers where the qualifying section interacts with the subject. Separately, higher secondary posts are reported to require a post-graduate degree in the relevant subject with 50 per cent, a B.Ed, and STET Paper-II in the relevant subject, which for these posts means STET in History rather than in another social science. Age is reported as 21 minimum and 37 for unreserved men, with category relaxations.

Common questions

How many questions are from History in BPSC TRE Higher Secondary History?

Eighty of the 150 questions are History as the concerned subject, worth 80 marks. General Studies contributes 40 questions and the qualifying language section 30. Because the language section does not count toward merit, History supplies 80 of the 120 marks that rank candidates. General Studies at this level is also reported to include the Indian national movement, so a History candidate gains some further ground there. The paper is objective multiple-choice over 2 hours 30 minutes, with one-third of a mark reported to be deducted per wrong answer.

What was the BPSC TRE History cut-off for class 11-12?

In TRE 3.0 higher secondary History is reported to have closed at 76 for unreserved men and 73 for unreserved women, 73 and 71 for EWS men and women, 68 for Extremely Backward Class men and women, 59 for Scheduled Caste men and women, and 43 and 51 for Scheduled Tribe men and women. That is roughly level with Geography at 77, well above English at 49, and below Hindi at 88. Stated category minimums are 40 per cent general, 36.5 per cent BC and EBC, and 32 per cent SC and ST.

How many higher secondary History vacancies are in BPSC TRE 4.0?

Reports conflict. Adda247 and Career Power each put class 11-12 History at 608 posts under Advertisement 14/2026, while another portal reports 696. Both sit within the reported 16,101 senior secondary posts and 32,388 posts overall. The Commission's own PDF could not be read directly here, so neither figure is confirmed. BPSC has signalled a revised advertisement, which is the document that will fix the History allocation alongside the revised application dates.

Does the BPSC TRE History syllabus for class 11-12 include world history and Bihar?

On current reporting, yes. The higher secondary History syllabus is described as ancient, medieval and modern India together with world history and the history of Bihar, at graduation and post-graduate level. The Bihar strand is finite and worth thorough coverage, spanning Magadha and the Mauryan period, Pataliputra, the Pala period and Bihar's role in the national movement. The authoritative topic list is the subject annexure in BPSC's own advertisement; portal summaries differ in how much of it they reproduce.

Do I need STET in History to apply for the higher secondary History post?

Reporting on the eligibility conditions says higher secondary posts require STET Paper-II in the relevant subject, along with a post-graduate degree in that subject with 50 per cent and a B.Ed. For a History post that means the STET qualification should be in History, not in a neighbouring social science. Candidates with a post-graduate degree in a related discipline should check the advertisement's own subject-equivalence wording rather than rely on a summary, because an eligibility defect costs the whole cycle.

When will the BPSC TRE 4.0 History exam be held?

No date is fixed. The earlier tentative window of 22 to 27 September 2026 has lapsed and the written examination is currently expected between December 2026 and January 2027. The application has been postponed twice, from 1 September to 21 September 2026, and a notice dated 20 September 2026 reports registration did not begin on the second date either. The examination date is shared by every TRE 4.0 subject and will be announced in a separate examination notification.