Karnataka · Government Exams

Karnataka Teaching Posts

Karnataka fills its government school teaching posts through a district-level competitive examination run by the School Education Department’s Centralised Admission Cell, with the Karnataka Teacher Eligibility Test as the entry condition for primary and upper-primary posts. Both are notified in the Karnataka Gazette district by district and division by division, and both are examined on OMR sheets in Kannada and English. Pre-university and collegiate posts are recruited separately through the Karnataka Examinations Authority.

The 2026 direct recruitment — primary, graduate primary, contract, high-school assistant master and physical education posts under Special Rules made on 10 August 2026 — is open, with the closing date extended to 25 September 2026 and the papers set for the first fortnight of October. Its selection formula is arithmetic, not judgement: the competitive examination carries 70 or 85 per cent, the TET score 20, and the degree and training marks the remainder. No teaching post in the state has an interview.

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Karnataka Teaching Posts · checked 19 September 2026

The dates, vacancies and rules below are read on the conducting body’s own site and rewritten as each notice appears. The guide beneath carries the full pattern, syllabus, cut-offs and free mock tests.

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19September 2026

Checked 19 September 2026

Karnataka Teaching Posts: the facts that matter now

01
Centralised Admission Cell, School Education Department; KEA for pre-university and collegiate posts
Recruiting bodies
02
Teacher direct recruitment 2026 — applications to 25 September 2026, fee reconciliation to 28 September; KEA PU principal recruitment, in-service…
Open now
03
5 to 13 October 2026, by cadre — two OMR papers of 100 marks, 35 per cent in each
Examinations
04
0.25 per wrong answer in the recruitment papers; none in KARTET
Negative marking

Notification

Karnataka Teaching Posts notification and key dates

Checked 11 September 2026. The teacher direct recruitment of 2026 is open. Notified on 10 and 12 August 2026 under Special Rules made on 10 August, it took applications from 18 August with a closing date of 7 September, extended by addenda of 3 and 4 September to 25 September 2026 with fee reconciliation to 28 September — the extension confirmed on the department’s home page and in the Bengaluru North divisional addendum, though not every district’s addendum was read. The examinations are scheduled from 5 to 13 October by cadre. Separately, KEA notified 216 pre-university principal posts on 3 September 2026, open only to serving PU lecturers with ten years’ service, with applications to 4 October. No KARTET notification for 2026 has been published; KARTET 2025 was held on 7 December 2025 and its results issued on 13 January 2026.

The 2026 direct recruitment timetable, from the district and divisional gazettes read and the department’s notices.
Cadre	Notified by	Applications	Examination
Primary school teacher and PE Grade II	Districts, 12 August 2026	18 August to 25 September 2026	5 October — Paper 1 morning, Paper 2 afternoon; 6 October — PE Grade II
Graduate primary teacher and contract teacher	Districts, 11 August 2026	18 August to 25 September 2026	8 October — Paper 1, then CST Paper 2; 9 October — social science, biological science, mathematics and science; 10 October — Kannada and English
High-school assistant master and PE Grade I	Divisions, 12 August 2026	18 August to 25 September 2026	12 October — Paper 1, then PE Grade I; 13 October — CBZ and arts, then Kannada and English
KEA — PU principal, in-service	3 September 2026	7 September to 4 October 2026	Three papers of 150 marks; dates to be announced

KARTET 2025 — the last eligibility test held.
Event	Date
Notification	18 October 2025
Applications	23 October to 9 November 2025
Corrigendum removing the degree-plus-B.Ed route to Paper 1	30 October 2025
Examination	7 December 2025 — Paper 1 9.30 to 12.00, Paper 2 2.00 to 4.30
Results and lifetime certificates	13 January 2026, on the STS portal, with certificates for every cycle since 2014

Check the recruiting bodies directly

School Education Department — notices Teacher recruitment 2026 — application portal KARTET results and certificates KEA — PU principal recruitment 2026

Overview

What Karnataka Teaching Posts is, and who it suits

The recruitment is decentralised by design. Primary, graduate primary and contract teacher posts are notified by each district’s deputy director; high-school assistant master and physical education Grade I posts by each of the four divisions; and the seven Kalyana Karnataka districts carry separate notifications for the 80 per cent local cadre and the 20 per cent residual cadre, with a further 8 per cent state-level local-cadre notification in Bengaluru North and Bengaluru Central. One online application covers every cadre, but a candidate chooses one district — or one division for assistant master — per post, and pays a separate fee for each.

The Bengaluru Rural notification of 11 August 2026 shows the shape of a district: 151 posts, of which 48 are graduate primary teachers of Kannada, 21 of English, 40 of mathematics and science, 13 of biological science, 25 of social science, and 4 contract teachers. The state total is not published on any single official page — press reports put it near 15,000, with about 8,500 graduate primary and 4,500 assistant master posts and nearly 7,000 in Kalyana Karnataka, but those figures are unconfirmed and the official numbers live only in each district’s gazette.

The cadres and what each needs

Primary school teacher, classes 1 to 5 — PUC and a two-year diploma in elementary education or a four-year integrated degree, plus KARTET or CTET Paper 1 with 60 per cent, or 55 for SC, ST, Category I and PwD. Pay ₹41,300 to ₹81,800.
Graduate primary teacher, classes 6 to 8 — a degree with 50 per cent, or 45 for reserved categories, plus a D.El.Ed, B.Ed or four-year integrated degree, and TET Paper 2 with 60 or 55 per cent. Pay ₹44,425 to ₹83,700.
Contract school teacher, classes 1 to 8 — a degree; the TET and B.Ed are not required at application but must be completed within five years of appointment.
High-school assistant master — a degree with 50 per cent and a B.Ed, with subject-specific conditions — a Kannada assistant master needs an arts degree with Kannada as an optional, or a postgraduate degree in Kannada. No TET. Pay ₹54,175 to ₹99,400.
Physical education, Grades I and II — the physical education certificate or diploma; Grade I is a divisional post, Grade II a district one.

The Kannada requirement is inside Paper 1

Unlike KPSC and KEA recruitments, the school teacher examination has no separate Kannada language test. General Kannada is a ten-mark section of Paper 1 alongside general English, and the question papers are set in Kannada and English with the English version authoritative. A candidate must score 35 per cent in each paper to be considered at all.

Eligibility

Who can apply for Karnataka Teaching Posts

Teacher direct recruitment 2026 — from the Bengaluru Rural, Mysuru and Shivamogga gazettes. Age on the closing date for applications.
Requirement	Rule
Age	21 minimum; 40 maximum for the general category, 43 for 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B, 45 for SC, ST, Category I and PwD.
Primary school teacher	A two-year D.El.Ed or a four-year integrated degree, and KARTET or CTET Paper 1 with 60 per cent, or 55 for SC, ST, Category I and PwD.
Graduate primary teacher	A degree with 50 per cent, or 45 for reserved categories, plus D.El.Ed, B.Ed or a four-year integrated degree, and TET Paper 2 with 60 or 55 per cent.
Contract school teacher	The prescribed degree; TET and B.Ed within five years of appointment.
High-school assistant master	A degree with 50 or 45 per cent and a B.Ed from a university recognised by law, with the subject conditions in the divisional notification.
Choice of place	One district per post for primary and graduate posts; one division for assistant master; local or residual cadre in Kalyana Karnataka.

Fees.
Recruitment	General, 2A, 2B, 3A, 3B	SC, ST, Category I and others
Teacher direct recruitment 2026	₹750 for one post; ₹1,125 for two in a cadre; ₹375 each further post	₹500; ₹750 for two; ₹250 each further post — also ex-servicemen, PwD and third-gender candidates
KARTET 2025	₹700 for one paper; ₹1,000 for both	₹350 and ₹500; PwD exempt
KEA PU principal 2026	₹1,500	₹1,000; PwD ₹500

KARTET — the entry condition

Paper 1 for classes 1 to 5, Paper 2 for classes 6 to 8 — a candidate who wants both eligibilities sits both. The corrigendum of 30 October 2025 removed the degree-with-B.Ed route to Paper 1.
Pass marks — 60 per cent for the general category and 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B; 55 for SC, ST, Category I and PwD. Five per cent relaxation in the qualifying examination’s marks for the same categories.
Only NCTE-recognised courses count — and RCI-recognised special-education diplomas and degrees.
The certificate is for life — and a candidate may sit again any number of times to improve the score. Passing is eligibility for recruitment, not recruitment.

Selection process

How Karnataka Teaching Posts selection works

Each stage in order, and what it actually tests.

Stages change between cycles. Confirm the structure in the notification for the cycle you are sitting.
Stage	Format	What it involves
Notification and application	District and divisional gazettes; one online application	Each district and division publishes its own gazette notification with its own vacancy table. The candidate registers once on the Centralised Admission Cell’s portal, chooses one district or division per post, and pays ₹750 per post — ₹1,125 for two posts in a cadre — or ₹500 and ₹750 for reserved categories.
Two papers, OMR	100 marks each; 35 per cent in each; 0.25 off per wrong answer	Paper 1 is general — general knowledge, current affairs, general Kannada, general English, educational psychology, computer literacy and value and health education. Paper 2 is the subject, 100 objective questions. A fifth bubble is shaded for questions left unanswered.
Weighted merit	Competitive examination 70 or 85 per cent; TET 20; degree and training the rest	For primary and graduate primary teachers the examination carries 70 per cent, the TET paper 20, and the qualifying examination and training course 8 and 2 — or 10 for a four-year integrated degree. For assistant masters the examination carries 85 per cent, the degree 13 and the B.Ed 2. Ties go to the older candidate.
Verification and select list	One to two, then one to one	A provisional list at one to two is called for document verification, a one-to-one provisional select list follows, objections are heard, and the final list is published. No interview.

Exam pattern

Karnataka Teaching Posts exam pattern and marking

Teacher direct recruitment 2026 — Paper 1 by cadre, from the gazettes. Each paper 100 marks, two hours, OMR; 35 per cent in each to be considered.
Section	Graduate primary and contract	Assistant master and PE Grade I	Primary and PE Grade II
General knowledge and current affairs	15 + 15	20	15
General Kannada	10	10	10
General English	10	10	10
Educational or child psychology	15	15	15
Mental ability	—	15	15
Computer literacy	15	15	15
Value and health education	20	15	10 + 10

Paper 2 and the weightage.
Cadre	Paper 2	Weightage in the merit
Primary school teacher — D.El.Ed	Mathematics, environmental studies and social science, 100 questions	Examination 70; TET Paper 1 20; PUC 8; training course 2
Primary school teacher — four-year integrated degree	As above	Examination 70; TET 20; degree 10
Graduate primary teacher — D.Ed or B.Ed	The subject — Kannada, English, mathematics and physical science, chemistry and biology, social science or computer science	Examination 70; TET Paper 2 20; degree 8; training 2
Graduate primary teacher — integrated degree	As above	Examination 70; TET 20; degree 10
Contract school teacher	The subject	Examination 85; degree 15
High-school assistant master	Kannada, English, CBZ or arts, 100 questions	Examination 85; degree 13; B.Ed 2
PE Grade II	Physical education	Examination 85; PUC 13; PE certificate 2

Negative marking, and the fifth bubble

The gazettes deduct 0.25 marks for every wrong answer and require a fifth circle to be shaded for questions not attempted. Key answers are published two days after the examination, with seven working days to object at ₹100 a question. KARTET, by contrast, has no negative marking, and questions deleted after key review are removed from the denominator rather than credited.

KARTET — each paper 150 questions, 150 marks, two and a half hours, no negative marking.
Section	Paper 1	Paper 2
Language 1	30	30
Language 2	30	30
Child development and pedagogy	30	30
Mathematics	30	Mathematics and science 60 — for mathematics and science teachers
Environmental studies	30	Social studies 60 — for social science teachers

KEA’s pre-university principal examination, for serving lecturers only, has three objective papers of 150 marks and three hours each — Kannada as a qualifying paper with 50 to pass, general studies, and the service rules — with 0.25 off per wrong answer and the fifth-bubble rule. It is the only pre-university recruitment on KEA’s pages; no public PU lecturer or assistant professor notification has been published since 2022.

Sources

Official notifications and sources

Checked 11 September 2026 against the department’s notices, the KARTET 2025 notification and result notice, three district and divisional gazettes of the 2026 direct recruitment read in full — Bengaluru Rural for graduate and contract posts, Mysuru division for assistant master, Shivamogga for primary — the Bengaluru North extension addendum, and KEA’s PU principal notification. The gazettes are scanned Kannada documents and the figures were read from them page by page; the subject names are translations. Other districts’ vacancy tables were not read, and the state total is unconfirmed.

Official notifications and notices

Teacher recruitment 2026 — candidate instructions Bengaluru Rural — graduate primary and contract teacher notification, 11 August 2026 Mysuru division — assistant master and PE Grade I notification, 12 August 2026 Shivamogga — primary school teacher and PE Grade II notification, 12 August 2026 Bengaluru North division — extension addendum, 3 September 2026 KARTET 2025 notification, 18 October 2025 KARTET 2025 corrigendum, 30 October 2025 KARTET 2025 result notice, 13 January 2026 KEA — PU principal notification, 3 September 2026

Exam resources

Everything for Karnataka Teaching Posts

Six resource pages, each kept in step with the latest official notification.

Karnataka Teaching Posts SyllabusKarnataka teacher recruitment syllabus — Paper 1 general sections and Paper 2 subject papers for the 2026 direct recruitment, and the KARTET syllabus.Karnataka Teaching Posts Exam PatternKarnataka teacher recruitment exam pattern — two 100-mark OMR papers, 35 per cent in each, 0.25 negative marking, and the 70:20:8:2 or 85:13:2 weightage.Karnataka Teaching Posts Previous PapersKarnataka teacher recruitment previous papers — the KARTET 2025 key, what the department publishes, and how to use the gazette scheme as a paper.Karnataka Teaching Posts Mock TestsKarnataka teacher recruitment mock tests — two-hour 100-question papers scored with the 0.25 rule and the 35 per cent floor.Karnataka Teaching Posts PreparationKarnataka teacher recruitment preparation — choosing a district, applying before 25 September 2026, and preparing the two papers in five weeks.Karnataka Teaching Posts Study MaterialKarnataka teacher recruitment study material — state textbooks for the subject paper, psychology and computer literacy references, and the KARTET readers.

More Karnataka preparation

All Karnataka examsEvery exam in this category Previous-year papersPast papers with solutions Current affairsDaily, weekly and monthly Exam updatesNotifications and results

Questions

Karnataka Teaching Posts — FAQs

Is Karnataka teacher recruitment 2026 open?

Yes. The direct recruitment of primary, graduate primary, contract, high-school assistant master and physical education teachers, notified on 10 to 12 August 2026, is open until 25 September 2026 after an extension, with fee reconciliation to 28 September. Applications go through the Centralised Admission Cell’s portal, one application for all cadres and one district or division per post. The examinations run from 5 to 13 October by cadre.

What is the Karnataka teacher recruitment exam pattern?

Two OMR papers of 100 marks and two hours each. Paper 1 is general — general knowledge, current affairs, general Kannada, general English, educational psychology, computer literacy and value and health education; Paper 2 is the subject, 100 questions. A candidate must score 35 per cent in each, 0.25 is deducted per wrong answer, and a fifth bubble is shaded for questions left blank. There is no interview.

How is merit calculated in Karnataka teacher recruitment?

By weightage. For primary and graduate primary teachers the competitive examination carries 70 per cent, the TET paper 20, the qualifying examination 8 and the training course 2 — or the degree 10 for a four-year integrated course. For assistant masters the examination carries 85, the degree 13 and the B.Ed 2; for contract teachers 85 and 15; for PE Grade II 85, 13 and 2. Ties go to the older candidate.

Is KARTET required for Karnataka teacher recruitment?

For primary school teachers, KARTET or CTET Paper 1 with 60 per cent — 55 for SC, ST, Category I and PwD; for graduate primary teachers, Paper 2 at the same marks. Contract teachers must complete it within five years of appointment. High-school assistant masters do not need it. The TET score is 20 per cent of the merit where it applies.

When is the next KARTET?

No KARTET 2026 notification has been published. KARTET 2025 was notified on 18 October 2025, held on 7 December 2025, and its results and certificates issued on 13 January 2026. Certificates for every cycle since 2014 are downloadable from the STS portal, and each is valid for life.

What is the KARTET pass mark?

Sixty per cent for the general category and 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B; 55 per cent for SC, ST, Category I and PwD. Each paper has 150 questions for 150 marks in two and a half hours, with no negative marking. A candidate may sit again to improve the score.

What is the fee for Karnataka teacher recruitment 2026?

₹750 for one post and ₹1,125 for two in a cadre, with ₹375 for each further post, for the general category and 2A, 2B, 3A and 3B; ₹500, ₹750 and ₹250 for SC, ST, Category I, ex-servicemen, PwD and third-gender candidates. KARTET 2025 charged ₹700 for one paper and ₹1,000 for both, or ₹350 and ₹500, with PwD exempt.

Is there a PU lecturer recruitment in Karnataka?

Not at present. The only pre-university recruitment on KEA’s pages is for 216 principal posts, notified on 3 September 2026 and open only to serving PU lecturers with ten years’ service, with applications to 4 October 2026. No public PU lecturer or assistant professor notification has been published since 2022.

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