CTET Syllabus for Paper I and Paper II

How the CTET is organised

The Central Teacher Eligibility Test is a qualifying test, not a recruitment exam. Clearing it gives you a certificate that central government schools such as Kendriya Vidyalayas and Navodaya Vidyalayas, and many private and state schools, accept as proof that you meet the teacher eligibility condition. Once earned, the certificate stays valid for your whole career.

• Paper I: for teachers of classes 1 to 5 (primary stage).
• Paper II: for teachers of classes 6 to 8 (elementary stage).
• If you want both levels, register for both papers. They are held in separate shifts.

There is no interview or second stage. Your marks in the paper you sit decide whether you qualify.

CTET exam pattern at a glance

Language I and Language II must be different languages, chosen from the list in the information bulletin. Each paper runs for 2 hours 30 minutes. Read the paper-specific pages for more detail: CTET Paper 1 syllabus and CTET Paper 2 syllabus.

Child Development and Pedagogy: the section common to both papers

These 30 questions are split into three blocks: child development (15), inclusive education and children with special needs (5) and learning and pedagogy (10). Paper I frames them around the primary school child; Paper II uses the elementary school child.

• Concept of development and its relation to learning; principles of development
• Influence of heredity and environment; socialisation, the role of teachers, parents and peers
• Ideas of Piaget, Kohlberg and Vygotsky, with critical perspectives
• Child-centred and progressive education; multi-dimensional intelligence; language and thought
• Gender as a social construct; individual differences among learners
• Assessment for learning versus assessment of learning; school-based assessment and continuous and comprehensive evaluation
• Addressing learners from diverse backgrounds, including disadvantaged groups; learning difficulties; talented and specially abled learners
• How children think and learn, why they fail, cognition and emotion, motivation and factors that help or hinder learning

CTET syllabus for languages (Hindi, English and others)

Each language section has 15 comprehension questions and 15 on the pedagogy of language development. Language I checks your proficiency in the medium of instruction; Language II checks basic communication and comprehension.

• Comprehension: unseen prose passages and a poem, with questions on meaning, inference, grammar and vocabulary.
• Pedagogy: learning and acquisition, principles of language teaching, the role of listening and speaking, grammar in teaching, challenges in a diverse classroom, the four skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing), evaluating language comprehension and proficiency, teaching-learning materials and remedial teaching.

Most candidates choose Hindi and English. If you search for the CTET English syllabus or the Hindi one, the structure is identical; only the passages change.

Maths, EVS, science and social studies topics

Paper I mathematics (15 content, 15 pedagogy)

Geometry, shapes and spatial understanding, solids around us, numbers, addition and subtraction, multiplication, division, measurement, weight, time, volume, data handling, patterns and money. Pedagogy covers the nature of mathematical thinking, its place in the curriculum, language of maths, evaluation, error analysis and diagnostic and remedial teaching.

Paper I environmental studies (15 content, 15 pedagogy)

Family and friends (relationships, work and play, animals, plants), food, shelter, water, travel and things we make and do. Pedagogy asks about the concept and scope of EVS, integrated EVS, activities, experimentation, discussion and continuous evaluation.

Paper II maths and science (60 questions)

Maths: number system, integers, fractions, algebra, ratio and proportion, geometry, symmetry, construction, mensuration and data handling. Science: food, materials, the world of the living, moving things, how things work (electric circuits, magnets), natural phenomena and natural resources. Each subject has 20 content and 10 pedagogy questions.

Paper II social studies (60 questions)

History from early societies to India after independence, geography (earth in the solar system, air, water, resources, agriculture, human environment) and social and political life (diversity, government, the Constitution, Parliament, the judiciary, media, gender and social justice). Here 40 questions test content and 20 test pedagogy.

Where the marks come from

Add up the pedagogy blocks and a pattern appears. In Paper I, 30 child development questions plus 15 pedagogy questions from every one of the remaining four sections make 90 of 150 marks about how children learn and how to teach. In Paper II the share is 30 plus 15 plus 15 plus 20 (or 20) which gives 80. That is why candidates with strong school knowledge still fall short: the paper rewards teaching judgement as much as facts.

A twelve-week plan based on the paper

1. Weeks 1 to 3: child development and pedagogy every day, because it carries 30 marks in both papers and its ideas reappear inside every pedagogy block.
2. Weeks 4 to 6: NCERT books of classes 3 to 5 for EVS (Paper I) or classes 6 to 8 for science or social studies (Paper II). Make one-page notes per chapter.
3. Weeks 7 to 8: maths content and its pedagogy together. Practise identifying the error a child has made, a favourite question type.
4. Weeks 9 to 10: language pedagogy for both languages and one passage a day for speed.
5. Weeks 11 to 12: full timed papers. Our CTET previous year question paper guide explains how to review them.

Books and material in general terms

• NCERT textbooks for classes 1 to 8 in your subjects, and class 9 and 10 science or social science for depth.
• The NCERT and D.El.Ed or B.Ed course readings on child psychology and pedagogy.
• The syllabus annexure in the CBSE information bulletin.
• Official provisional answer keys published after each session, for checking how pedagogy answers are framed.

Avoid collecting many guides. One clear source per section, revised three times, works better.

CTET syllabus in Hindi

सीटीईटी का सिलेबस दो पेपर में बंटा है। पेपर 1 कक्षा 1 से 5 के शिक्षकों के लिए और पेपर 2 कक्षा 6 से 8 के शिक्षकों के लिए है। हर पेपर में 150 प्रश्न, 150 अंक और ढाई घंटे का समय होता है, और गलत उत्तर के लिए कोई अंक नहीं घटाया जाता। दोनों पेपर में बाल विकास और शिक्षाशास्त्र, भाषा 1 और भाषा 2 के 30 30 प्रश्न आते हैं। पेपर 1 में गणित और पर्यावरण अध्ययन के 30 30 प्रश्न होते हैं। पेपर 2 में गणित और विज्ञान या सामाजिक अध्ययन के 60 प्रश्न होते हैं। हर विषय में सामग्री के साथ पढ़ाने की विधि पर भी प्रश्न पूछे जाते हैं, इसलिए शिक्षाशास्त्र पर विशेष ध्यान दें।