Gauri Chhabra
Education sprouts in many forms depending on how you look at it. Our views of what it should look like and how it should materialize depend on our value of it and our experience with it. With the technological breakthrough in education and platforms like TedEd and TeacherTube, Education has undergone a sea change. So has the recruitment of the primary disseminators of Education- the teachers. The ‘sage on the stage’ formula is no longer relevant. Rather, today, the teacher has to be a guide who needs to stay relevant with his subject all the time. This has necessitated that the teachers take and clear the some tests like the CTET before getting into the profession.
What is CTET?
The Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) is a test conducted by the CBSE and is applicable to the schools of the central government (KVS, NVS, Tibetan schools, etc.) and schools under the administrative control of union territories. The test is conducted separately by state governments and the Central Government. Eligibility test conducted by State is called State Level Teacher Eligibility Test (STET) and the test conducted by Central Government is called Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET). You will have to score minimum 60 percent in the test to qualify for teaching jobs at any private or government school.
If you secure 60 percent marks or above, you will be issued an eligibility certificate. The validity period for this CTET qualifying certificate for appointment to a teaching position in a school is seven years from the date of declaration of the CTET result for all categories.
There is no restriction on the number of attempts you can take for acquiring a CTET Certificate. You can attempt the CTET even after qualifying it, if you want to improve your score.
Eligibility
Applicants should meet the following criteria to be eligible for the test:
Minimum qualifications for Paper I:
*You should have passed the senior secondary exam with at least 50% marks and should have passed or be appearing in the final year of the 2-year Diploma in Elementary Education or
*You should have passed the senior secondary exam with at least 45% marks and should have passed or be appearing in the final year of the 2-year Diploma in Elementary Education in accordance with the NCTE, or
*You should have passed the senior secondary exam with at least 50% marks and should have passed or be appearing in the final year of the 4-year Bachelor of Elementary Education or
*You should have passed the senior secondary exam) with at least 50% marks and should have passed or be appearing in the final year of the 2-year Diploma in Education (Special Education*) or
*You should have completed graduation and should have passed or be appearing in final year of the 2-year Diploma in Elementary Education.
Minimum qualifications
for Paper II
*You should have completed graduation and should have passed or be appearing in the final year of the 2-year Diploma in Elementary Education.
or
*You should have completed graduation with at least 50% marks and should have passed or be appearing in the 1-year Bachelor in Education (B.Ed) or
*You should have completed graduation with at least 45% marks and should have passed or be appearing in the 1-year B.Ed, in accordance with the NCTE or
*You should have passed the senior secondary exam (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marks and should have passed or be appearing in the final year of the 4-year B.El.Ed. or
*You should have passed the senior secondary exam (or its equivalent) with at least 50% marks and should have passed or be appearing in the final year of the 4-year B.A/B.Sc.Ed or B.A.Ed./B.Sc.Ed. or
*You should have completed graduation with at least 50% marks and should have passed or be appearing in the 1-year B.Ed. (Special Education*).
Exam pattern & syllabus
The CTET will have multiple choice questions (MCQs), each question worth 1 mark with no negative marking. The exam has two papers – Paper I and Paper II. If you want to teach classes I to V, you should take Paper I (primary stage).If you want to teach classes VI to VIII, you should take Paper II (elementary stage). In case, you want to teach at both levels – for classes I to V and VI to VIII, you should take both papers. If you want to apply as Mathematics and Science teacher, you should opt for Mathematics and Science section and if you want to apply as a Social Studies/Social Sciences teacher should opt for the second section.
Paper I
Paper I has 150 questions and would test you in the following sections (30 questions in each section):
*Child Development and Pedagogy
*Language I
*Language II
*Mathematics
*Environmental Studies
Paper II
Paper II has 150 questions and would test you in the following sections:
*Child Development & Pedagogy
*Language I
*Language II
*Mathematics and Science/ Social Sciences – 60 questions
Nature of Questions
The test items on Child Development and Pedagogy in Paper I and Paper II will depend on will focus on educational psychology of teaching and learning, relevant to the age group 6-11 and 11-14 years respectively. They will focus on understanding the characteristics, needs and psychology of diverse learners
The Test items for Language I for both the papers will focus on the proficiencies related to the medium of instruction, as chosen from list of prescribed language options in the application form.
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 in Paper I will focus on the concepts, problem solving abilities and pedagogical understanding of the subjects. In all these subject areas, the test items will be evenly distributed over different divisions of the syllabus of that subject prescribed for classes I-V, by the NCERT/CBSE. The questions in the tests for Paper I will be based on the topics prescribed for classes I-V, but their difficulty standard, as well as linkages, could be up to the secondary stage.
The test items in Mathematics and Science, and Social Studies/Social Science in Paper II 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 will be evenly distributed over different divisions of the syllabus of that subject as prescribed for classes VI-VIII by the NCERT/CBSE.
The questions in the tests for Paper II will be based on the topics of the prescribed syllabus of the NCERT/CBSE for classes VI-VIII but their difficulty standard as well as linkages could be up to the senior secondary stage.
Application procedure
You can apply online through the CTET official website. Fee payment can be made either by depositing in CBSE bank account with Syndicate Bank/ HDFC Bank in favor of “Secretary, Central Board of Secondary Education, Delhi or through debit/credit card using online payment gateway facility. You will be able to deposit payment of application fee January 2017. You can make online correction in Application form till the last date January 2017. And the exam will be held in Feb 2017.
Prep up
Since it is a test of speed and accuracy, practice is key. Regular practice not only raises your level of speed but it also raises your accuracy level. Practice as many past question papers as possible. That will give you a clear picture of what to expect in the exam.
Therefore, if you are planning to appear for the CTET this year, roll up your sleeves and get started for an examination that would keep you abreast with your profession.
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