Eligibility criteria for NTSE 2022

The eligibility criteria for NTSE 2022 varies for each stage. The exam has two stages - Stage 1 and Stage 2. The condition of eligibility differs for both the stages. There are separate eligibility conditions for candidates studying abroad.  More information is provided below for the sake of the students:

Stage 1

• The candidate must be a Class X student from any Government/ Private schools 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 NTSE 2022, provided they are less than 18 years of age, not employed and are appearing for Class X board examination for the first time.

Stage 2

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

Studying abroad

• Indian students studying abroad in Class X or equivalent can 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 applicants must take part in the exam in a centre in India.
• The candidates must request through the Head of the Institution where he/she is studying, along with an attested copy of Class IX mark sheet. The request should reach the Head, Department of Educational Survey Division, NCERT, New Delhi by 31 December of the concerned year.
• Selected candidates will get the scholarship only if they decide to undertake studies in India.

Exam pattern for NTSE 2022

The exam has two stages - Stage 1 and Stage 2, first stage is a state level or union territory level process and is conducted by authorities concerned of the respective state or union territory. Both the stages have MAT and SAT. MAT stands for Mental Ability Test which has questions related to simple mathematics, general ability, general knowledge. SAT stands for Scholastic Ability Test which has questions related to academics subjects taught at schools regularly like maths, physics, chemistry, social sciences. Both the papers in both the stages have no negative marking.

Stage 1

MAT

• This section consists of a total of 100 questions.
• The main topics of the Mental Ability Test are series, pattern perception, analogies, coding-decoding, classifications, hidden figures and problem-solving etc.
• The test duration is 120 minutes.
• It consists of questions based on analytical and logical reasoning.
• Mental Ability Test evaluates the candidate’s reasoning, ability to think, ability to evaluate, ability to discriminate and visualize.

SAT

• SAT section consists of a total of 100 questions from Science (40), Social Science (40) and Mathematics (20).
• The section tests the candidate’s reading abilities, interpretation, evaluation and general awareness of the subjects.
• The time allotted for the SAT section is 120 minutes.
• The level of questions will be equivalent to class 10th or equivalent exam.

Stage 2

• Stage 2 exam will be conducted by NCERT at the national level.
• Only the shortlisted or qualified candidates of Stage 1 can appear to compete for the scholarship.
• This stage also has two parts - Mental Ability Test (MAT) and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT).
• There will be 100 questions in both MAT and SAT (Science-40, Maths-20, Social science-40).
• The duration of both the exams is 2 hours.
• There is no negative marking.