NTSE for 9th & 10th grade students

NTSE for 9th and 10th students

If a student can get recognized well for his performance, at the high school level, and land up with a good scholarship, given by the Government of India, to pursue his/ her higher education or to get admitted into a prestigious college of one’s choice or to pursue a doctoral degree, what else can a student ask for?

NTSE, an acronym for National Talent Search Examination, is an initiative of the Government of India.

• It is a scholarship programme and it is a venerated examination.
• The difficulty level of assessment is seen to have increased, when compared to the previous years’ question papers, with the increasing number of aspirants
• To compensate the above phenomenon, the number of scholarships allocated for achievers is also being increased
• Students are expected to get the minimum scores needed in each section to get their name on the NTSE cutoff list
• Students are expected to know their GK well and work very hard to excel.
• Upon getting good marks, students get financial support in pursuing a doctoral degree, as per UGC norms

NTSE Examination Eligibility Criteria for students in India

NCERT has prescribed an age limit for the students to appear for the examination and the candidate should be below the age of 18 years.

Eligibility for Students Studying Abroad

• Indian students studying abroad in Class X or equivalent, are eligible to write stage 2 directly and are exempted from the stage 1 examination.
• The candidate must have scored 60% in the previous year’s annual examination.
• The candidate should appear for the examination in a centre in India.
• The candidate must apply with an attested copy of the Class IX mark sheet, attested by the Head of the Institution where he/ she is studying. It should reach the Department of Educational Survey Division, NCERT, New Delhi by 31 December of the concerned year.
• The selected candidate will receive the scholarship, only if he/she decides to pursue studies in India.

 Eligibility for the students appearing for Stage 1 (State level examination)

• The candidate must be a Class X student from any Government/ Private school in India.
• There is no domicile restriction. The candidate can be from any State/Union Territory of India.
• The candidates studying in open or distance learning are also eligible to write the NTSE examination, provided they are below 18 years of age, not employed, and are appearing for the Class X board examination for the first time.

 Eligibility for the students appearing for Stage 2 (National level examination)

• Only the students who qualify in stage 1 (state-level examination) are eligible to appear for the Stage 2 examination. The roll number, venue, and date of the examination details are always conveyed to the selected candidates by NCERT through its official website

Examination Pattern set by NTSE

• The NTSE examination is held in two stages and the syllabus for NTSE is divided into two parts: SAT and MAT.
• SAT stands for Scholastic Aptitude Test
• MAT stands for Mental Ability Test. 
• There will be 100 questions in each test

Part 1 – Mental Ability Test (MAT)

• This section will have questions on analytical and logical reasoning.
• This section tests the students on their ability to solve reasoning questions, ability to think, evaluate and visualize.
• The section consists of a total of 100 questions and the time allotted for this section is 120 minutes.
• It calls for good observation and making a logical decision.

Part 2 – Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)

• This section will have a total of 100 questions, which is further divided into Science (40), Social Science (40) and Mathematics (20).
• The student has to be well versed with the lessons taught in class 9 and 10.
• The time allotted for the SAT, is 120 minutes.
• The level of questions asked in this section will be equivalent to class 10 or an equivalent examination.

 For both Stage 1 and Stage 2, there will be objective type of questions.

NTSE Examination Marking Scheme

• Students are required to take the NTSE examination at their designated NTSE examination centre.

Benefits of performing well in NTSE-

• Helps in building confidence and prepares the student with a better time management
• Prepares one for the other competitive examinations held in India and abroad. It will be useful when one takes up AIPMT, JEE, CLAT, SAT, etc.,
• IIT Delhi, an Engineering College recognizes NTSE scholars
• NTSE scholars get good recognition in Foreign Universities during admission
• The scholars get preference in various Public and Private sector jobs
• National Defence Academy Examination, by UPSC, gives preference to NTSE scholars
• Well established Engineering colleges consider the scores of NTSE scholars

• For more information about the date/s for applying, how to apply, the date/s of the examination/s, for the syllabus, and how the amount of scholarship is disbursed for each level, please visit the official website of NCERT ON NTSE. ncert.nic.in

What after Class 12? NTSE for 9th and 10th grade students