Guest Teacher: February 2011

Guidelines for conducting

Teacher Eligibility Test

(TET)

1 The implementation of the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory
Education (RTE) Act, 2009 requires the recruitment of a large number of teachers
across the country in a time bound manner. Inspite of the enormity of the task, it is
desirable to ensure that quality requirement for recruitment of teachers are not diluted
at any cost. It is therefore necessary to ensure that persons recruited as teachers
possess the essential aptitude and ability to meet the challenges of teaching at the
primary and upper primary level.

2 In accordance with the provisions of sub-section (1) of section 23 of the Right
of Children to Free and Compulsory Education (RTE) Act, 2009, the National Council
for Teacher Education (NCTE) has laid down the minimum qualifications for a person
to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in class I to VIII, vide its Notification dated
August 23, 2010. A copy of the Notification is attached at Annexure 1. One of the
essential qualifications for a person to be eligible for appointment as a teacher in any
of the schools referred to in clause (n) of section 2 of the RTE Act is that he/she
should pass the Teacher Eligibility Test (TET) which will be conducted by the
appropriate Government.

3 The rationale for including the TET as a minimum qualification for a person to
be eligible for appointment as a teacher is as under:
i. It would bring national standards and benchmark of teacher quality in the
recruitment process;
ii. It would induce teacher education institutions and students from these
institutions to further improve their performance standards;
iii. It would send a positive signal to all stakeholders that the Government lays
special emphasis on teacher quality

4 The TET examination may be conducted by a suitable professional body
designated by the appropriate Government for the purpose. It will be conducted in
accordance with the Guidelines hereunder.
Eligibility

5 The following persons shall be eligible for appearing in the TET:
i. A person who has acquired the academic and professional qualifications
specified in the NCTE Notification dated 23rd August 2010.
ii. A person who is pursuing any of the teacher education courses (recognized
by the NCTE or the RCI, as the case may be) specified in the NCTE
Notification dated 23rd August 2010.
iii. The eligibility condition for appearing in TET may be relaxed in respect of a
State/UT which has been granted relaxation under sub-section (2) of section
23 of the RTE Act. The relaxation will be specified in the Notification issued
by the Central Government under that sub-section.
Structure and Content of TET

6 The structure and content of the TET is given in the following paragraphs. All
questions will be Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), each carrying one mark, with
four alternatives out of which one answer will be correct. There will be no negative
marking. The examining body should strictly adhere to the structure and content of
the TET specified below.

7 There will be two papers of the TET. Paper I will be for a person who intends
to be a teacher for classes I to V. Paper II will be for a person who intends to be a
teacher for classes VI to VIII. A person who intends to be a teacher either for classes
I to V or for classes VI to VIII will have to appear in both papers (Paper I and Paper
II).
Paper I (for classes I to V); No. of MCQs – 150;
Duration of examination: one-and-a-half hours
Structure and Content (All Compulsory)
(i) Child Development and Pedagogy 30 MCQs 30 Marks
(ii) Language I 30 “ 30 “
(iii) Language II 30 “ 30 “
(iv) Mathematics 30 “ 30 “
(v) Environmental Studies 30 “ 30 “
Nature and standard of questions
While designing and preparing the questions for Paper I, the examining body
shall take the following factors into consideration:
• The test items on Child Development and Pedagogy will focus on
educational psychology of teaching and learning relevant to the age group
of 6-11 years. They will focus on understanding the characteristics and
needs of diverse learners, interaction with learners and the attributes and
qualities of a good facilitator of learning.
• The Test items for Language I will focus on the proficiencies related to the
medium of instruction, (as chosen from list of prescribed language options
in the application form).
• The Language II will be from among the prescribed options other than
Language I. A candidate may choose any one language from the available
language options and will be required to specify the same in the application
form. The test items in Language II will also focus on the elements of
language, communication and comprehension abilities.
• The test items in Mathematics and Environmental Studies will focus on the
concepts, problem solving abilities and pedagogical understanding of the
subjects. In all these subject areas, the test items shall be evenly
distributed over different divisions of the syllabus of that subject prescribed
for classes I–V by the appropriate Government.
• The questions in the tests for Paper I will be based on the topics of the
prescribed syllabus of the State for classes I–V, but their difficulty
standard, as well as linkages, could be upto the secondary stage.
Paper II (for classes VI to VIII); No. of MCQs – 150;
Duration of examination : one-and-a-half hours
Structure and Content
(i) Child Development & Pedagogy (compulsory) 30 MCQs 30 Marks
(ii) Language I (compulsory) 30 “ 30 “
(iii) Language II (compulsory) 30 “ 30 “
(iv) (a) For Mathematics and Science teacher : Mathematics and Science – 60
MCQs of 1 mark each
(b) For Social studies teacher : Social Studies - 60 MCQs of 1 mark each
(c) for any other teacher – either 4(a) or 4(b)
While designing and preparing the questions for Paper II, the examining body
shall take the following factors into consideration:
• The test items on Child Development and Pedagogy will focus on
educational psychology of teaching and learning, relevant to the age
group 11-14 years. They will focus on understanding the
characteristics, needs and psychology of diverse learners,
interaction with learners and the attributes and qualities of a good
facilitator of learning.
• The test items for Language I will focus on the proficiency related to
the medium of instruction, as chosen from list of prescribed options
in the application form.
• The Language II will be a language other than Language I. The
person may choose any one language from among the available
options and as in the specified list in the application form and
attempt questions in the one indicated by the candidate in the
application form by him. The Test items in Language II will also
focus on the elements of language, communication and
comprehension abilities.
• The test items in Mathematics and Science, and Social Studies will
focus on the concepts, problem solving abilities and pedagogical
understanding of these subjects. The test items of Mathematics and
Science will be of 30 marks each. The test items shall be evenly
distributed over different divisions of the syllabus of that subject as
prescribed for classes VI-VIII by the appropriate government.
• The questions in the tests for Paper II will be based on the topics of
the prescribed syllabus of the State for classes VI-VIII but their
difficulty standard as well as linkages could be upto the senior
secondary stage.

8 The question paper shall be bilingual – (i) in language(s) as decided by the
appropriate Government; and (ii) English language.
Qualifying marks

9 A person who scores 60% or more in the TET exam will be considered as TET
pass. School managements (Government, local bodies, government aided and
unaided)
(a) may consider giving concessions to persons belonging to SC/ST, OBC,
differently abled persons, etc., in accordance with their extant reservation
policy;
(b) should give weightage to the TET scores in the recruitment process;
however, qualifying the TET would not confer a right on any person for
recruitment/employment as it is only one of the eligibility criteria for
appointment.
Applicability

10
(a) TET conducted by the Central Government shall apply to all schools referred
to in sub-clause (i) of clause (a) of section 2 of the RTE Act.
(b) TET conducted by a State Government/UT with legislature shall apply to :
(i) a school of the State Government/UT with legislature and local authority
referred to in sub-clause (i) of clause (n) of section 2 of the RTE Act;
and
(ii) a school referred to in sub-clause (ii) of clause (n) of section 2 of the
RTE Act in that State/UT.
A school at (i) and (ii) may also consider eligibility of a candidate who has
obtained TET Certificate awarded by another State/UT with legislature. In case
a State Government/UT with legislature decides not to conduct a TET, a school
at (i) and (ii) in that State/UT would consider the TET conducted by the Central
Government.
(c) A school referred to in sub-clause (iv) of clause (n) of section 2 of the RTE Act
may exercise the option of considering either the TET conducted by the
Central Government or the TET conducted by the State Government/UT with
legislature.
Frequency of conduct of TET and validity period of TET certificate

11 The appropriate Government should conduct a TET at least once every year.
The Validity Period of TET qualifying certificate for appointment will be decided by the
appropriate Government subject to a maximum of seven years for all categories. But
there will be no restriction on the number of attempts a person can take for acquiring
a TET Certificate. A person who has qualified TET may also appear again for
improving his/her score.
Procedure for conduct of the Test

12 The examining body shall formulate a detailed procedure and lay down
instructions for conduct of the TET. Candidates should be informed that a very
serious view will be taken of any malpractice or impersonation.
Legal Disputes

13 All legal disputes with regard to conduct of TET shall be subject to the
jurisdiction of the appropriate Government.
Award of TET Certificate

14 The appropriate Government conducting the Test shall award a TET Certificate
to all successful candidates. The certificate should contain the name and address of
the candidate, date of birth, Registration No. year/month of award of Certificate,
marks obtained in each Paper, class level of its validity (Class I to V, class VI to VIII
or both), and, in case of classes VI to VIII, the subject area (Science and
Mathematics, Social Studies, etc.). The certificate may be electronically generated
with adequate security features. Appropriate may consider utilizing the services of
specialized agencies for issuing de-materialized (demat) TET certificates as a
security feature to avoid any kind of malpractice.
Monitoring

15 Following measures would be taken for monitoring the quality and
administration of the TET:
(a) The appropriate Government shall appoint a Nodal Officer for the
purpose of TET.
(b) The NCTE would organize meetings of the Nodal Officers at least once
every year.
(c) Every appropriate will forward a report of each TET to the NCTE in a
format to be prescribed by the NCTE.
(d) The NCTE shall maintain data base and be the repository of experts and
resources, including the technological tools for conduct of the TET, and
shall share it with the appropriate Government.

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