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EMRS Staff Selection Exam (ESSE): TGT and PGT: syllabus and eligibility

EMRS TGT PGT key facts
Conducting bodyNational Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS). Official website ↗
PostsPGT (English, Hindi, Maths, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, Geography, Commerce, Economics, Computer Science), TGT (Hindi, English, Maths, Science, Social Studies, Computer Science), TGT (Regional Language), TGT Music, Art and Physical Education (Male and Female), TGT Librarian
QualificationTGT: a bachelor's degree with at least 50% in every subject and in aggregate, or a four-year NCTE-recognised integrated degree with 50%; plus a B.Ed with 50% or a three-year integrated B.Ed-M.Ed; plus a CTET Paper II certificate issued on or before 23 October 2025. Each subject needs particular graduation subjects: TGT Maths needs maths in all three years, physics for a year and one of chemistry, electronics, computer science or statistics for a year. PGT: a master's degree with 50% in the subject (most subjects also need it at graduation) plus a B.Ed with 50%, a three-year B.Ed-M.Ed or a four-year integrated degree with B.Ed. PGT Computer Science needs an M.Sc (CS/IT), MCA or M.E./M.Tech (CS/IT) with 50%, without B.Ed at entry.
DomicileNot required
Selection stagesTier I: qualifying OMR test; shortlisting for Tier II at 1:10 of vacancies (language part must be cleared separately) → Tier II: subject paper of 40 MCQs and 15 descriptive questions for 100 marks in 3 hours → Minimum Tier II score: 30% for General, OBC and EWS; 25% for SC, ST and PwBD → Document verification at 1:3; the TGT and PGT merit list is based only on Tier II
Latest notificationESSE-2025 Information Bulletin (NESTS/Adv/2025/01, 19 September 2025)

Last checked . Sources

About EMRS TGT PGT

Eklavya Model Residential Schools teach Scheduled Tribe students from Class 6 to 12, and NESTS, an autonomous society under the Ministry of Tribal Affairs, recruits their staff. ESSE-2025 (advertisement NESTS/Adv/2025/01, dated 19 September 2025) listed 7,267 vacancies in all, including 1,460 PGT and 3,962 TGT posts across the subject, regional language and music, art, PE and librarian groups. Staff live on campus and get a 10% special allowance for residential duties. Anyone selected must learn the local language of the posting and pass NESTS' proficiency test during probation.

Eligibility

Age relaxation

  • SC: 5 years
  • ST: 5 years
  • OBC: 3 years
  • PwBD: 10 years
  • Upper age limit before relaxation: 35 years for TGT and 40 years for PGT.
  • Women of all categories: 10 years for PGT and TGT posts. Women with a disability get the PwBD relaxation instead.
  • PwBD candidates get 13 years if OBC-NCL and 15 years if SC or ST.
  • 3 years of continuous Central Government service in the same or an allied cadre: 5 years.
  • Persons ordinarily domiciled in Jammu and Kashmir between 1 January 1980 and 31 December 1989: 5 years.
  • Regular EMRS employees, and non-permanent EMRS staff working on 1 July 2025: up to 55 years.
  • Ex-servicemen with at least six months of service may deduct it from their age and qualify if the result is no more than 3 years over the limit.
  • Only the single highest relaxation applies, and no one can be over 55 after relaxation.

Qualification

TGT: a bachelor's degree with at least 50% in every subject and in aggregate, or a four-year NCTE-recognised integrated degree with 50%; plus a B.Ed with 50% or a three-year integrated B.Ed-M.Ed; plus a CTET Paper II certificate issued on or before 23 October 2025. Each subject needs particular graduation subjects: TGT Maths needs maths in all three years, physics for a year and one of chemistry, electronics, computer science or statistics for a year. PGT: a master's degree with 50% in the subject (most subjects also need it at graduation) plus a B.Ed with 50%, a three-year B.Ed-M.Ed or a four-year integrated degree with B.Ed. PGT Computer Science needs an M.Sc (CS/IT), MCA or M.E./M.Tech (CS/IT) with 50%, without B.Ed at entry.

Other conditions

  • Fee for PGT and TGT: Rs 2,000 (Rs 1,500 application fee plus Rs 500 processing fee). Women, SC, ST and PwBD candidates pay only the Rs 500 processing fee.
  • Postings can be to any EMRS in India at NESTS' discretion.
  • The selection panel stays valid for two years from publication.

Selection process

  1. Tier I: qualifying OMR test; shortlisting for Tier II at 1:10 of vacancies (language part must be cleared separately)
  2. Tier II: subject paper of 40 MCQs and 15 descriptive questions for 100 marks in 3 hours
  3. Minimum Tier II score: 30% for General, OBC and EWS; 25% for SC, ST and PwBD
  4. Document verification at 1:3; the TGT and PGT merit list is based only on Tier II

Exam pattern

Tier I (TGT)

Mode: OMR (pen and paper), in Hindi and English; regional language part in the language opted · Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes · Negative marking: 1/3 mark per wrong answer

SUBJECTQUESTIONSMARKS
General Awareness1010
Reasoning Ability1515
Knowledge of ICT1515
Teaching Aptitude3030
Domain Knowledge: activity-based pedagogy and case studies (20) and NEP 2020 (10)3030
Language Competency: English, Hindi and a regional language (qualifying, 40% needed)3030

Tier I (PGT)

Mode: OMR (pen and paper), in Hindi and English · Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes · Negative marking: 1/3 mark per wrong answer

SUBJECTQUESTIONSMARKS
General Awareness1010
Reasoning Ability1515
Knowledge of ICT1515
Teaching Aptitude3030
Domain Knowledge: activity-based pedagogy and case studies (20) and NEP 2020 (10)3030
Language Competency: General English and General Hindi (qualifying, 40% needed)2020

Tier II (subject knowledge)

Mode: OMR MCQs plus descriptive answers, pen and paper · Duration: 3 hours · Negative marking: 1/3 mark per wrong MCQ

SUBJECTQUESTIONSMARKS
Objective questions on the subject4040
Descriptive questions on the subject1560

EMRS TGT PGT syllabus

Tier I: general parts

  • General knowledge and current affairs
  • Reasoning: puzzles, seating arrangement, data sufficiency, blood relations, direction test, series, Venn diagrams
  • ICT: computer and operating system basics, MS Office, shortcuts, networks, cyber security and internet
  • Teaching aptitude: nature and objectives of teaching, learner characteristics, methods, teaching aids and evaluation

Tier I: domain knowledge and language

  • Experiential, activity-based pedagogy and case-study questions
  • National Education Policy 2020
  • General English: grammar, error correction, comprehension, vocabulary, idioms
  • General Hindi: sandhi, samas, synonyms and antonyms, passages
  • Regional language (TGT) from a list of 20 languages

Tier II: subject syllabus

  • Separate subject-wise syllabus for each TGT and PGT post, published by NESTS
  • For example, TGT English covers reading comprehension, writing tasks, grammar and usage, and English literature from Shakespeare to modern Indian writing

What they ask

Tier I has 100 scored one-mark questions plus a qualifying language part (30 marks for TGT, 20 for PGT), with a third of a mark cut for each wrong answer. Teaching aptitude and domain knowledge together make up 60 of the 100 scored marks, and the domain part mixes case-study pedagogy questions with NEP 2020. If you score under 40% in the language part, the rest of your Tier I paper is not evaluated. Tier II is a three-hour subject paper where 15 descriptive questions carry 60 of the 100 marks, and the TGT and PGT merit list comes from Tier II alone.

How to prepare

  • Clear the language part first. You need 40% in it (12 of 30 for TGT, 8 of 20 for PGT), or none of your other Tier I answers are marked.
  • Read the NEP 2020 document itself; 10 Tier I marks come straight from it.
  • Practise case-study pedagogy questions, which carry 20 marks, alongside the 30-mark teaching aptitude section.
  • Write timed descriptive answers for your subject. In Tier II, 15 written questions carry 60 of the 100 marks.
  • Guess only when you can drop at least one option; each wrong answer costs a third of a mark.
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EMRS TGT PGT FAQs

Up to 35 years for TGT and 40 for PGT on 23 October 2025. Women get 10 extra years, SC and ST 5, OBC-NCL 3 and PwBD 10, and no one can be over 55 after relaxation.

Sources

Checked against official sources on . Rules change with each notification, so read the latest one before you apply.

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