Primary teacher (CTET / TET)
govt school posts
- Remote
- Varies
- Qualification
- Typically Bachelor of Elementary Education or Bachelor of Education, entered through Central Teacher Eligibility Test.
- Read
- 1 min
What the work involves
Day to day
Teaching young children across subjects - planning lessons, building literacy and numeracy from the ground up, assessing progress, managing a classroom and working with parents.
Who this suits
Fit
Patient people who like children and understand that foundational years decide everything afterwards. Government teaching posts offer strong security, defined pay scales, pension provisions and holidays, and the demand for qualified primary teachers is permanent.
The honest reality
Read this one
Government posts require clearing the eligibility test, and recruitment cycles in many states are irregular and can go years between notifications - a large number of qualified candidates wait a long time. Private school pay is often very low. Class sizes are large, and teachers are routinely assigned non-teaching government duties like surveys and election work that consume teaching time. Rural postings are common.
How you get there
Step by step
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2 years Step 1Finish school
Class 12 in any stream
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5 years Step 2Qualify
Complete a bachelor's degree followed by B.Ed.
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Step 3Enter the field
Typical first position: Primary teacher (CTET / TET).
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Step 4Build and specialise Optional
Move into senior teaching, curriculum design or school leadership.
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You are herePrimary teacher (CTET / TET)
Everything above leads here. The steps marked optional can be skipped or taken later — they change how fast you arrive, not whether you can.
Courses that lead here
How to qualify
Exams on the way
Admission and qualifying
Roles within this career
What the job is called
Common questions
Frequently asked questions
Does clearing the eligibility test get me a job?
No, it makes you eligible to apply. Recruitment is a separate competitive process run by state or central bodies.
Why do candidates struggle with the pedagogy section?
Because the questions are applied rather than factual. They describe a classroom situation and ask what you would actually do about it.
What non-teaching duties should I expect?
Government teachers are routinely assigned surveys, election work and administrative tasks that consume real teaching time.
Is private school teaching a reasonable alternative?
It hires faster but usually pays considerably less, with weaker security and no pension provisions.