19September 2026
Checked 19 September 2026
Teaching and NET: what is live
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Government Exams
Teaching & NET
The examinations in this section share a characteristic worth stating plainly: they are eligibility tests, not recruitments. Clearing CTET, a state TET, UGC NET or CSIR NET establishes that you may be appointed — it does not appoint you, and a separate recruitment process follows.
They divide by level. CTET and the state TETs establish eligibility to teach in schools, and are built around pedagogy as much as subject content. UGC NET and CSIR NET establish eligibility for lectureship in higher education and for research fellowships, and are subject examinations at postgraduate depth.
Teaching and NET · checked 19 September 2026
Teaching and NET exams this month, from the official portals
Notifications, application windows, exam dates, answer keys and results as the conducting bodies published them, each with its source and a link to the exam guide.
The landscape
Four eligibility tests, two levels
| Test | Establishes eligibility for | Level | Negative marking |
|---|---|---|---|
| CTET | Teaching classes I to VIII in central and recognising schools | Teacher training qualification | None |
| State TET | Teaching in that state’s school system | Teacher training qualification | Generally none — confirm for your state |
| UGC NET | Assistant Professor, JRF and PhD admission | Master’s degree | None |
| CSIR NET | Lectureship, JRF and PhD admission in the sciences | Master’s degree in a science subject | Yes, varying by part and subject |
The absence of negative marking in three of the four is the most actionable fact here. In CTET, state TETs and UGC NET there is no penalty for a wrong answer, which means leaving any question blank is a guaranteed loss. Candidates carrying habits from penalised examinations give away marks in all three every cycle.
2026 cycle
Teaching and NET notifications 2026: where each test stands
Checked 19 September 2026 against ctet.nic.in, ugcnet.nta.nic.in, csirnet.nta.nic.in, csirhrdg.res.in and the state portals that were reachable.
| Test | Notification | Examination | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|
| CTET (22nd edition) | 8 May 2026; applications 11 May – 10 June and again 25 August – 1 September | 12 and 13 December 2026 (moved from 6 September by the notice of 14 September) | City and date on the portal 15 days before the examination; admit card two days before. February 2026: 5,97,061 of 23,24,625 qualified (25.68 per cent) |
| UGC NET June 2026 | 29 April 2026; applications to 23 May | 22 – 30 June and 5 July 2026; English, Commerce and Sociology re-held 9 – 10 September | Result for 84 subjects and cut-offs 28 August 2026: 4,241 JRF, 45,904 Assistant Professor, 97,434 Ph.D.-only; the three re-held subjects 17 September: 824 JRF, 11,610 Assistant Professor, 23,154 Ph.D.-only. December 2026 notice expected around October |
| CSIR NET June 2026 | 27 May 2026; applications to 19 June | 17 – 18 July 2026 | Scores 29 August; result, ranks and cut-offs 10 September 2026: 3,308 JRF, 4,167 Assistant Professor, 12,552 Ph.D.-only. December 2026 notice expected in October–November |
| TG TET (Telangana) | 13 April 2026; applications 15 – 30 April | 16 – 22 June 2026, computer-based | Result declared; certificates on the portal |
| AP TET (Andhra Pradesh) | 5 June 2026; applications to 5 July | 5 – 21 August 2026, computer-based | Result 13 September 2026 |
| UPTET (Uttar Pradesh) | 20 March 2026 (UPESSC) | 2, 3 and 4 July 2026, OMR | Result declared; certificates 7 September 2026 |
| Test | Paper | Negative marking | Qualifying |
|---|---|---|---|
| CTET | Paper I and/or Paper II: 150 questions, 150 marks, 2 hours 30 minutes each, OMR | None | 60 per cent (90/150); concessions for reserved categories at the school management’s discretion |
| State TET | Same 150-question frame; CBT in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, OMR in UP and Kerala | None in the large states | TS and AP 60 / 50 / 40 per cent; UP 60 / 55; Kerala 60 with relaxations |
| UGC NET | Paper I 50 questions / 100 marks and Paper II 100 questions / 200 marks in one 3-hour CBT sitting | None; +2 per correct answer | Top 6 per cent of appeared for Assistant Professor, subject to 40 per cent aggregate (35 reserved); subject-wise cut-offs; JRF above them |
| CSIR NET | One 3-hour CBT of Parts A, B and C, 200 marks, with attempt caps per part | 25 per cent of the question’s marks (33 in Earth Sciences Part C; none in Mathematics Part C) | Subject cut-offs on the aggregate — June 2026 JRF from 43 per cent (Mathematics) to 71 (Earth Sciences); minimum 33 per cent (25 SC, ST, PwD) |
CTET costs ₹1,000 for one paper or ₹1,200 for both (₹500 and ₹600 for SC, ST and PwD); UGC NET and CSIR NET ₹1,150 for General, ₹600 for EWS and OBC-NCL and ₹325 for SC, ST, PwD and third gender; the state tests set their own fees. Every certificate is now valid for life. The exam guides below carry the full pattern tables, the eligibility and age rules, the cut-off sheets, the procedure from application to certificate and free mock tests on the current patterns.
For school teaching
Why pedagogy dominates the TETs
Both CTET and the state TETs devote a compulsory section to child development and pedagogy, and carry a pedagogical component within every content section as well. Across the whole paper, understanding how children learn — why a particular error arises, what a teacher should do about it — is worth more than any single content subject. This is why a subject graduate can struggle with a paper on their own subject, and why content revision alone does not produce a pass.
For higher education
What separates UGC NET from CSIR NET
- Subject coverage — UGC NET covers the humanities, social sciences, commerce and allied disciplines; CSIR NET covers five science subjects.
- Structure — UGC NET has a hundred-mark aptitude paper plus a subject paper; CSIR NET has a small aptitude part plus two subject parts of ascending difficulty.
- Marking — UGC NET has no negative marking; CSIR NET does, at rates that vary by part and subject.
- What decides them — UGC NET rewards completing the fixed Paper 1 syllabus alongside subject depth; CSIR NET rewards problem-solving ability, since its highest-value questions require application rather than recall.
Exams in this category
Teaching exams
Each exam carries its syllabus, pattern, previous papers, mock tests, preparation guide and study material.
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Questions
Teaching & NET — FAQs
What are the teaching and NET exam dates for the rest of 2026?
CTET’s 22nd edition is on 12 and 13 December 2026, with the examination city and date shown on ctet.nic.in 15 days before and the admit card two days before. UGC NET December 2026 and CSIR NET December 2026 have not yet been notified; on the December 2025 pattern the notices are due in October or November with the examinations in December or January. Among the state tests, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh have completed their 2026 sessions and the next are announced on the state portals.
What were the UGC NET and CSIR NET June 2026 cut-offs?
UGC NET, unreserved, out of 300: Education 232 (JRF) / 206 (Assistant Professor) / 182 (Ph.D.), Economics 224 / 196 / 170, Political Science 222 / 196 / 170, Computer Science 214 / 180 / 158, Management 214 / 184 / 162, Law 204 / 178 / 160, History 190 / 168 / 148; and from the re-examination sheet of 17 September, Sociology 232 / 206 / 174, English 226 / 198 / 172, Commerce 210 / 182 / 160. CSIR NET, unreserved JRF, as a percentage of 200: Chemical Sciences 62.25, Earth Sciences 71.02, Life Sciences 66.50, Mathematical Sciences 43.00, Physical Sciences 45.875. The full category-wise sheets are linked from each exam guide.
Does clearing CTET or NET get me a job?
No. All four examinations in this section are eligibility tests rather than recruitments. A CTET or state TET certificate establishes that you may be appointed as a teacher; actual appointment requires applying to recruiting bodies — central schools, state education departments or private schools — each of which runs its own selection process. Similarly, NET qualification establishes eligibility to apply for Assistant Professor positions, but universities conduct their own recruitment with their own selection committees.
Is there negative marking in teaching eligibility tests?
Not in CTET or UGC NET, and generally not in state TETs — though the last is worth confirming for your own state. CSIR NET is the exception and does apply negative marking, at rates that vary by part and by subject. Where no penalty applies, every question should be answered, because a blank and a wrong answer score identically. Candidates regularly submit these papers with unanswered questions out of habits formed on penalised examinations.
Should I take CTET or my state TET?
Ideally both, since the preparation overlaps almost entirely. Child development and pedagogy, subject pedagogy and content at the relevant class levels are common to both, so one preparation covers most of the ground. The additions a state TET requires are its regional language paper and its state-specific content, which CTET does not test. CTET carries wider recognition, particularly for central government schools, while a state TET is generally recognised within that state.
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