The Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) is an important examination for aspiring teachers or individuals already pursuing the teaching career. It is a national level exam that is conducted as an important eligibility criterion for teachers, especially in the Government schools of India.

CTET qualification is awarded for primary and upper primary level teaching. Teacher Eligibility Tests are also conducted by the states at the state-level.

By appearing for CTET, candidates qualify for teaching at the central level schools such as the Kendriya Vidyalayas, Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas, etc. CTET is conducted by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) twice a year, in July and December.

For 2019, the July CTET gas been conducted successfully. CBSE is all set to conduct the December CTET. It has been scheduled on the 8^th of December 2019.

CTET examination comprises of two papers – Paper-I and Paper-II. Paper-I is conducted for candidates who wish to teach at the primary level, that is, classes 1-5. For this paper, candidates have to prepare for the following areas –

• Child Pedagogy and Development
• Language I
• Language II
• Mathematics
• Environmental Studies

The paper will be of 150 marks for which candidates will be given not more than 2.5 hours.

Paper-II will be conducted for candidates who wish to teach at the upper primary level, that is classes 6-8. This paper is also of 150 marks with a time duration of 2.5 hours. The areas that candidates have to prepare for this paper are as follows –

• Child Pedagogy and Development
• Language I
• Language II
• Mathematics and Science (for teachers teaching Maths or Sciences)
• Social science or Social Studies (for teachers teaching Social Science)

It can be noted here that candidates are also given the opportunity to appear for both the papers if they wish to qualify for both primary and upper primary level teaching.

It is important that candidates start the final leg of their preparations now, which is appearing for mock tests. Mock test should ideally be a mandatory part of the preparation process as it helps the candidates understand the question paper well and gives them an experience similar to the main day.

Here is why mock tests are important before appearing for the examination –

• The candidates get a better understanding of the paper pattern.
• They can test their speed of problem-solving and answering, which also gives them practice for the main day.
• Some highly probable questions are found in the mock test question papers, which will be helpful during the exams.
• By appearing for the mock test, candidates can estimate their preparation level and go back to revising portions which they believe can be improved upon.
• Mock tests prepare the candidates mentally for the main exam dates and help in building the confidence of the candidates.

If you are looking for mock test papers, there are several websites which provide free mock tests for practice. One must simply download them and time themselves while answering those questions, to get a simulation of the main exam day.