NCERT Non Teaching Syllabus, Exam Pattern, Eligibility

NCERT sets a different paper for every post and publishes the scheme for each in a 40-page Marking Scheme and Syllabus. The architecture is shared.

The qualifying rule catches people out. It is not a threshold on the total: you must clear the percentage in Section A and Section B separately.

Section A changes with the post

Group A and B posts get a 100-question Section A; Level 2 to 5 posts get 50. The accounting posts are the only ones with a dedicated quantitative block, at 20 of their 50. NCERT attaches one caveat to the whole table: "The weightage of marks may slightly vary depending on circumstances."

Section B is then the post's subject, and for a Level 2 post it runs to 70 marks against Section A's 50, so the paper totals 120. The subjects are listed under Syllabus.

After the written test

• Written test alone for most posts, including Lower Division Clerk, the Lab Assistants, Store Keeper Grade II, Junior Accountant, Store Officer, Production Assistant and Professional Assistant.
• Written test plus skill test for Junior Hindi Translator, and a word processing and typing test for the clerical grades.
• Skill test alone for the craft posts: Film Joiner, Lightman and Painter.

For every sitting NCERT publishes a mock test link a few days before and an objection window after, each as its own notice. It also reserves the right to raise or lower the qualifying and final cut-off marks, and to hold a written test for all posts or for none, with or without notice.

NCERT publishes a 40-page Marking Scheme and Syllabus alongside the advertisement, with a page per post giving the mode, the marks, the two sections, the marking, the duration and the qualifying percentages. Section A is general ability and its break-up is given under Exam Pattern. Section B is the subject.

Section B: how far apart the subjects are

For most posts the break-up table says only "As per Scheme and Syllabus which is already uploaded on NCERT's website", and the per-post pages then give the subject. The word "etc." recurs in NCERT's own lists, so treat the named subjects as a floor.

The general half

• General English: grammar and usage, error spotting, vocabulary, sentence improvement, voice and narration.
• Comprehension: named separately from English for several posts, and weighted as heavily as English on the Group A and B papers.
• General Awareness: polity and the Constitution, history, geography, economy and general science. For this employer, read the school education system too: the National Education Policy 2020, the National Curriculum Framework, and what NCERT does.
• Current Affairs: its own block wherever it appears, so recent events carry dedicated questions.
• Logical Reasoning and Quantitative Aptitude: series, analogy, coding, blood relations and arithmetic at the level of the post's qualification.
• Computer Knowledge: fundamentals, components, operating systems, office software, internet and basic security.

The skill tests

Film Joiner, Lightman and Painter are selected on a skill test with no written paper, and no syllabus is published for them. Their essential qualifications point at what is examined: an ITI in a relevant trade with three years of experience for Painter, three years of lighting experience for Lightman, one year of handling audio, video and editing equipment for Film Joiner.

The clerical grades add a word processing and typing test after the written paper. NCERT runs it jointly for Assistants, Lower Division Clerks and Multi-Tasking Staff and publishes a single result. For Lower Division Clerk the standard is 35 words a minute in English or 30 in Hindi on a computer, at five key depressions a word, which is 10,500 and 9,000 key depressions an hour. It is qualifying and carries no marks.

NCERT sets a separate qualification and a separate maximum age for each of the 47 post codes.

Maximum age by grade

Most of the Group C advertisement closes at 27, tighter than many central clerical recruitments.

Qualifications, by kind of post

How NCERT counts experience

• Qualification and experience must both be complete on or before the closing date. Anything acquired after it is not considered.
• Only experience gained after the essential qualification counts. Experience during a regular course does not count, and nor does part-time work.
• Internship, apprenticeship, freelance and daily-wage work do not count, with one narrow exception for a SAS apprentice in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department or the Defence Accounts Department.
• The employer must be a recognised organisation, a central or state government body, an autonomous body established by either, or a firm registered under the Companies Act 2013, the Shops and Establishment Act or the Partnership Act 1932.
• The certificate must come from the head of the organisation, give the entire duration by date, month and year, state basic and consolidated pay, and describe the duties.

Reservation and certificates

• SC, ST and OBC (NCL) reservation follows the Central Lists only, and a state listing is not enough.
• A reserved-category candidate selected without any relaxed standard counts against the unreserved vacancies; one who qualifies on a relaxed standard of age, experience, qualification or extended zone counts against the reserved vacancies whatever their merit position.
• Ex-Servicemen reservation applies only where the post is advertised under that category, though an ESM candidate may apply elsewhere using the age relaxation. Of the 13 ESM posts, 9 are Lower Division Clerk. PwBD reservation runs across the five statutory groups, in the posts identified for each.
• An OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) or EWS certificate must be issued on or after 1 April 2025, after the close of financial year 2024-25, and not later than the closing date. Too early fails as surely as too late.
• A caste certificate must be in the prescribed Government of India proforma, naming the caste, the Act or Order recognising it in the Central List, and the place of ordinary residence. Without a valid certificate the candidate is treated as unreserved.
• Candidates already in government, PSU or autonomous body employment must submit an NOC; failing to do so by the due date cancels the candidature. Age relaxation for government employees is withheld after a resignation, a gap in service, or a missing NOC.

NCERT prints a mode of selection against every post, and there are three.

Interviews are not the norm. The advertisement says selection is by open competitive examination, skill tests and interview, as applicable, and for almost every post the written test decides: "The provisional merit list shall be drawn on the basis of marks scored in CBT/Written Test as the case may be."

The sequence runs: online application with fee, mock test link a few days before the sitting, the CBT, an objection window, a shortlist for the typing or skill test and document verification where applicable, then the select and waiting panels. Clearing the paper means 40 per cent Unreserved or 35 per cent SC, ST, OBC and PwBD in each Section; the cut-off that follows is a different number, described under Cut Off Details.

How big the field actually is

NCERT publishes an attendance report, which very few recruiting bodies do. The report of 7 July 2026 covers all 33 sittings.

Three readings. One post is 83 per cent of the field. Only a third of registrations turn up, 34 per cent across the whole recruitment, so a registration number overstates the real competition by three times. And the specialist posts are genuinely small: Lab Assistant (Home Science) drew one candidate, who attended a sitting held for them alone.

NCERT reserves the right to raise or lower the qualifying and final cut-off marks, to hold a written test for all posts or none with or without notice, and to allot a centre anywhere in India regardless of preference. Canvassing is a disqualification, and the Council publishes notices cancelling named candidatures.

NCERT prints the 7th CPC level and the pre-revised scale against every post, so the whole non-academic ladder is visible at once.

NCERT gives the level and the pre-revised scale and stops there. It does not itemise allowances, probation or pension for these posts, so treat an in-hand figure quoted elsewhere with care.

On promotion, the vacancies page carries a steady stream of Limited Departmental Competitive Examinations for serving staff: Assistant at a 25 per cent quota, Section Officer and Assistant Programme Coordinator at 25 per cent, Senior Accountant at 75 per cent. They are closed to outside candidates, but they show the cadre has a published promotion ladder.

Applications are online only, through the link NCERT publishes on its vacancies page. An application without the prescribed fee is summarily rejected and no representation against that will be entertained.

Fee, by the level of the post

The fee is per post, so three applications cost three fees. It is never refunded or adjusted. And women are not exempt at NCERT, which differs from several comparable central bodies. Payment is online by debit card, credit card or net banking, with bank charges on the candidate.

How the payment step fails

• After submitting the payment information, wait for the server. Pressing back or refresh risks a double charge.
• Success generates an E-Receipt. If no E-Receipt appears, the payment failed.
• After a failure, log in again with the provisional registration number and password and pay again.
• Print the E-Receipt and the application form carrying the fee details, and keep them.

The window, and the extension

NCERT extended the window by more than two weeks through a separate notice, so watch the page after a deadline as well as before one. Qualification, experience and the OBC or EWS certificate must all be in order by the closing date; those rules are under Eligibility.

NCERT conducts this recruitment itself, through its Non-Academic section. No commission or outside agency is named in the advertisement.

Eleven establishments, named by code

The allocation explains the advertisement. CIET makes educational media, hence TV Producer, Audio Radio Producer, Floor Assistant, Film Assistant, Film Joiner, Lightman and Painter. The Regional Institutes run teacher education and demonstration schools, hence twelve Lab Assistant disciplines. The RPDCs print and distribute textbooks, hence Production Officer, Production Assistant and Senior Proof Reader. It is also how the reserved vacancies are distributed: several posts exist at one institute only, so a category reserved against them is reserved at that place.

The computer based tests are held in all major states and union territories, subject to enough applications coming from a place. NCERT publishes no list of cities in the advertisement.

The centre is the Council's to allot: "The Council reserves the right to allot exam centre in any City/State/UTs across India to any candidate as per the availability, irrespective of the choices/preferences ... and no correspondence regarding change of exam centre will be entertained." The preference on the form is a preference, and you may be sent to another state. The admit card is where you find out.

One post, one date

With 47 post codes NCERT fixes a date for each and runs them in blocks. The 2026 cycle took 33 sittings across five days: 13 on 24 March, 6 on 25 March, 3 on 27 March, 10 on 27 and 28 April, and Lower Division Clerk alone on 15 May 2026, six weeks after the April block, which is what 32,864 registered candidates required.

Around each sitting NCERT issues four separate notices on the vacancies page: the CBT schedule, a mock test link, an admit card notice, and an objection link afterwards. In this cycle it also moved two posts, Assistant Engineer Grade A and Assistant Public Relation Officer, after the schedule had been published. A notified date can change, and the vacancies page is the only place it will be said.

NCERT has no annual calendar for non-academic recruitment. It advertises the whole block at intervals of years, then works through it post by post over months.

Advertisement No. 01/2025/Non-Academic

The window ran about five weeks after an extension, so a closed NCERT deadline is not always final. The sittings then ran over seven weeks, and two posts were rescheduled after the schedule had gone out. Everything turns on the closing date for applications: qualification and experience must be complete on or before it, and the OBC and EWS certificates dated inside the window described under Eligibility.

The previous advertisement, 11-4/2019-20/E-III(R-II)/Rect(D), was still being finished years later: cut-offs for Junior Accountant and Lab Assistant on 23 June 2025, and a waiting-list selection for Assistant on 10 September 2025. Two advertisements six years apart, each taking years to clear, is the pattern to plan around.

The admit card is downloaded from NCERT's vacancies page, through a link published for each sitting. Nothing is sent by post.

NCERT is explicit that the website is the channel: "Though separate emails / SMS may be sent to candidates for intimation of release of Admit Card but it will not be the responsibility of NCERT if candidate(s) do not receive the email / SMS." Note the word may. Check the page rather than waiting for a message.

Posts with a second stage get a second admit card. For the clerical grades NCERT published a separate admit card link and instructions document for the computer typing test and document verification, after the CBT result.

The centre printed on the card may not be the city you asked for. NCERT allots centres anywhere in India irrespective of the preferences given in the application, and will not entertain correspondence about changing one.

Results appear as dated notices on the vacancies page, in the non-academic folder, and NCERT publishes more of the process than most recruiting bodies.

• A post-wise attendance report with registered, present and absent counts for every sitting, and a consolidated statement of applications.
• Shortlists for typing tests, skill tests and document verification, by application sequence number, roll number and name.
• Category-wise cut-off marks once a post is completed.
• Typing test results, published jointly for Assistants, Lower Division Clerks and Multi-Tasking Staff.
• Waiting-list selections, and notices cancelling named candidatures.

There is no candidate-wise mark sheet and no answer key beyond the objection window. Selection stays subject to verification of character, antecedents, caste and documents; NCERT has cancelled named candidatures for Lower Division Clerk, Lab Assistant and Store Keeper Grade I, and once refunded the fee for Driver Grade III when that recruitment did not proceed.

NCERT publishes two different numbers. A qualifying minimum, stated in advance in the scheme, and a cut-off, declared once a post is completed.

The word each carries the rule. On a Lower Division Clerk paper of 50 and 70 marks, an Unreserved candidate needs 20 in Section A and 28 in Section B, separately.

The cut-off, as NCERT defines it

"The following Cut Off is the score obtained in CBT by the last candidates in the select panel/waiting panel who were offered the post after being found eligible in Document Verification as on date." So it is where the panel that actually received offers closed, not where a shortlist began.

Declared on 23 June 2025 under the previous advertisement. The three decimal places on Junior Accountant are what a normalised score looks like. The SC cut-off for Lab Assistant matched the unreserved one at 53.00, so a reserved category is not always the easier line. And against six ST vacancies NCERT wrote "None found eligible" rather than a mark.

The field size tells you more than a cut-off does, because it varies by two orders of magnitude between posts in the same advertisement: Lower Division Clerk had roughly 195 candidates present per vacancy, Store Keeper Grade II about nine. The Council also reserves "the right to increase/decrease the qualifying/final cut-off marks", so the published percentages are a starting position.

Choose the post before you choose the syllabus

47 post codes, and the competition between them varies enormously. Lower Division Clerk drew 32,864 registrations for 54 posts; Store Keeper Grade II drew 335 for 19; Lab Assistant (Home Science) drew one. If you hold a specialist qualification, apply on it instead of defaulting to the clerical post because it has more vacancies.

Then read your post's page

NCERT's Marking Scheme and Syllabus gives a page per post: the mode, the marks, the two sections, the marking, the duration and the qualifying percentages. Section A runs from 50 questions to 100 depending on the post. Do not prepare from another post's page.

Clear both sections, not just the total

40 per cent Unreserved and 35 per cent SC, ST, OBC and PwBD, in Section A and Section B. A strong total built on one section does not qualify.

Answer accurately

A quarter mark comes off for a wrong answer, so four wrong cancel one right. Two hours for the paper leaves time to think, which makes a blind guess harder to justify than in a faster exam.

Take the mock test, and use the objection window

NCERT publishes a free mock test link a few days before each sitting, the only chance to see the real interface. An objection link opens after the paper, and it is the only route to challenging a question: no answer key is published beyond it.

For practice material at the Level 2 posts, SSC CHSL papers sit at the same 10+2 standard on the same general heads, though NCERT gives more time per question, deducts less for a wrong answer and wants a percentage in each section. Lab Assistant and engineering candidates should work from the degree syllabus instead.

Get the paperwork right before you claim anything

Only experience gained after the essential qualification counts, and not experience during a regular course, part-time work, an internship, an apprenticeship, freelance or daily wages. The certificate must come from the head of the organisation with duration by date, month and year, basic and consolidated pay, and duties. OBC (NCL) and EWS certificates have to be dated inside a window bounded at both ends.

Budget for the fee, per post

₹1,000 at Level 2 to 5, ₹1,200 at Level 6 to 7, ₹1,500 at Level 10 to 12, payable separately for each post, with nothing for SC, ST, PwBD and Ex-Servicemen. Women are not exempt and the fee is never refunded. After paying, wait for the server; no E-Receipt means the payment failed.

Watch one page

Everything appears on NCERT's vacancies page. In this cycle the Council extended the last date and rescheduled two posts, and it allots centres anywhere in India regardless of preference. The previous block was six years earlier, so when one opens, apply for everything you are eligible for.

No sample or previous year papers are available for the NCERT non-academic recruitment as of now, and no answer key is published beyond the objection window. NCERT does post a free mock test link a few days before each sitting on its vacancies page.

• NCERT Vacancies, which carries the academic and non-academic recruitments in separate folders, plus the internal departmental examinations. Everything below is published here.
• Advertisement No. 01/2025/Non-Academic, 39 pages, with all 173 vacancies (Hindi)
• Marking Scheme and Syllabus, 40 pages, a page for each post
• NCERT's own FAQ and the Recruitment Rules
• CBT schedule, and the date change notice for two posts
• Attendance report for all 33 sittings, 7 July 2026
• Cut-off marks for Junior Accountant and Lab Assistant, which also defines what NCERT means by a cut-off
• Typing test result for Assistants, Lower Division Clerks and Multi-Tasking Staff

What does "NCERT Non Teaching" mean?

The non-academic recruitment stream. The academic stream covers Professors, Associate and Assistant Professors, Principals of the Regional Institutes and the PGT and TGT posts of the Demonstration Schools; the non-academic stream covers everything else, from Superintending Engineer down to Carpenter.

How many posts were advertised?

173 under Advertisement No. 01/2025/Non-Academic, across 47 post codes: 86 UR, 44 OBC (NCL), 18 ST, 14 SC and 11 EWS, with 12 posts horizontally reserved for Persons with Benchmark Disabilities and 13 for Ex-Servicemen. 138 of the 173 are Group C.

Which post has the most vacancies, and the most competition?

Lower Division Clerk on both counts: 54 posts, and 32,864 of the 39,585 candidates who registered across the whole recruitment. Next largest is Store Keeper Grade II at 19, then Technician Grade I at 8. At the other extreme, Lab Assistant (Home Science) drew one registered candidate.

What is the exam pattern?

A Computer Based Test of two hours in two sections. Section A is general ability, Section B the post's own subject. Section A is 100 questions for Group A and B posts and 50 for most Level 2 to 5 posts.

Is there negative marking?

Yes, a quarter mark for each wrong answer, in both sections.

What are the qualifying marks?

40 per cent Unreserved and 35 per cent SC, ST, OBC and PwBD, in each Section separately, not on the total.

Is there an interview?

Rarely. For the great majority of posts the written test alone decides. Junior Hindi Translator adds a skill test, the clerical grades add a typing test, and Film Joiner, Lightman and Painter are selected on a skill test with no written paper.

What is the application fee?

₹1,000 at Level 2 to 5, ₹1,200 at Level 6 to 7 and ₹1,500 at Level 10 to 12 for Unreserved, OBC and EWS candidates, payable separately for each post. SC, ST, PwBD and Ex-Servicemen pay nothing. Women are not exempt, and the fee is never refunded.

What is the age limit?

It varies by post. Most Group C posts close at 27, with 30 for a few such as Graphic Assistant Grade I and Senior Proof Reader. Assistant Production Officer is 35, Production Officer and Business Manager 40, Superintending Engineer 50.

Does experience during my degree count?

No. Only experience gained after the essential qualification counts, and not part-time work, an internship, an apprenticeship, freelance work or daily wages, with one narrow exception for SAS apprentices in the Indian Audit and Accounts Department or the Defence Accounts Department.

What certificate dates should I watch?

An OBC (Non-Creamy Layer) certificate and an EWS certificate must each be issued on or after 1 April following the close of the preceding financial year and not later than the closing date. Reservation follows the Central Lists only.

Can I choose my examination centre?

You can state a preference, but NCERT allots centres anywhere in India irrespective of it, and no correspondence about a change will be entertained.

Does NCERT publish cut-off marks?

Yes, once a post is completed, and it means the CBT score of the last candidate in the select or waiting panel actually offered the post after clearing document verification. There is no candidate-wise mark sheet.

Why do so many registered candidates not turn up?

NCERT does not say, but attendance across the whole recruitment was 34 per cent, and 32 per cent for Lower Division Clerk. The real field is about a third of the registration figure.

How often does NCERT advertise these posts?

Rarely. The previous non-academic advertisement was six years earlier and NCERT was still declaring results under it in 2025 and 2026. There is no annual cycle.

Is there a promotion route once appointed?

Yes. The vacancies page carries Limited Departmental Competitive Examinations for serving staff: Assistant, Section Officer and Assistant Programme Coordinator under a 25 per cent quota and Senior Accountant under 75 per cent, each with its own scheme, syllabus, skill test and result. They are closed to outside candidates.