Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET): 10 Workable strategies to keep in mind

Deepak Himanshu

The Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) is a national level examination is held twice a year by the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE). It offers applicants a chance to start their teaching career for classes I to VIII. The CTET exam consists of two papers- Paper-I and Paper-II. Candidates who plan to teach Classes 1-5 are required to give Paper-I and candidates who plan to teach Classes 6-8 must appear for Paper-II. Candidates who want to teach Classes 1-8 are required to appear for both papers.

The Central Teacher Eligibility Test also checks the eligibility of candidates for appointment as teachers in central government schools such as KVS/NVS/Tibetan Schools, etc.

The examination was initially scheduled to take place on July 5, but CBSE postponed it, keeping in mind the increasing number of coronavirus cases in the country. The examination is now scheduled for January 31, 2021.

Over 20 lakh aspirants appear for CTET exam every year. According to media reports, nearly 24 lakh candidates appeared for CTET in December 2019, out of which 5.42 lakh qualified.

To crack CTET with flying colours, applicants must keep in mind these 10 workable strategies:

1.   Go through the entire syllabus and make a revision plan on the topic you know the least: You tend to develop your reading ability and analytical skills in the revision process. By revising the topic you know the least, you identify your weaknesses and find ways to improve in the same.

2.   Prepare notes on important points and facts/data based points from each topic: Making notes helps you focus on what you are reading. It helps you to understand new ideas and information and retain them better.

3.    Solve previous year question papers and understand the pattern of question: Solving previous year question papers will help you to evaluate your weaknesses and strengths so that you can work on weaker sections. It will also help you to decide the best way to respond during  the examinations. At the same time, it will also allow you to handle time efficiently.

4.   Make a habit of attempting mock tests frequently: Mock tests allow students to revise the syllabus well before the actual exams. It will help you develop time management skills and also strengthen your confidence to deliver your utmost to achieve good marks.

5.   Pedagogy is the most important key to excel in CTET. While you solve it, think like a teacher: The consistency of your teaching and the way students learn can be strengthened by providing a well thought-out pedagogy, allowing them to gain a deeper understanding of the fundamental concept. It will help you better understand how to help students acquire deeper learning by being mindful of the way you teach.

6.   Practicing passage and poetry for language papers is a must: Sometimes, passages are lengthy and require time to read. The more time you spend reading, the less time you get to answer the questions. So if you practise regularly reading these passages, it will definitely improve your pace of reading and help you cover the whole passage faster.

7.   Even if you know the answer instantly, you must read the complete question and all four options carefully before finalising the answer: We sometimes practise the same type of questions while studying for exams until we feel we have mastered it. On seeing such questions, we tend to answer them instantly. But you should read the question thoroughly before answering as the question might also be different.

8.   Time is one of the important factors in CTET. While practicing for the exam, you must know which question you should skip to save your time during the exam: It is important to keep an eye on those topics that would be regarded as challenging, against those that are simple whilst attempting the exam. Allocate your time accordingly.

9.   Most of the time, questions in the CTET exam play with options. You should be prepared enough to eliminate the wrong options rather than just finding the right option: Multiple choice options in the examination might be misleading at times. Thus, when you face difficulty in finding the right answer, without wasting your time, start eliminating the options you feel are incorrect.

10.  Child development and pedagogy is a high scoring subject in CTET. Basis your practical and real life knowledge, try to score more marks in this: Prepare diligently for subjects like child development and pedagogy as they can fetch you more marks. Also, reading NCERT is very important for the preparation of Environmental studies, Mathematics and Science.

To qualify for the CTET 2020 Exam, an applicant is required to score a minimum of 60 per cent. One important thing to remember is that the CTET score is valid for 7 years after CBSE has declared the result, which will be published within four to six weeks from the date of conduct of the examination.

 The writer is a top CTET Educator at Unacademy