NATIONAL TALENT SEARCH EXAMINATION
What is the NTSE?
The National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) is a national level scholarship program in India to identify and nurture talented students. It honours and helps talented students by providing financial assistance in the form of a monthly scholarship for the entire academic career. Students studying in Class VIII are eligible to appear for the selection process. As the examination is organized by an autonomous body (National Council of Educational Research and Training), it is widely regarded as the most prestigious examination at high school level in India. For more details of NTSE, students can visit www.ncert.nic.in.
There is a two-stage selection process for award of scholarship. For Stage-I, selection will be done by States/UTs through the written examination. Each State/Union Territory has been allotted a quota to recommend a specific number of candidates for the Stage II examination, the details of which are available on NCERT website (www.ncert.nic.in). Students who qualify Stage I will be eligible to appear for Stage II examination conducted by NCERT.
Why should I appear in the NTSE?
NTSE is one of the oldest and most prestigious scholarship exams in India. An NTSE scholar commands tremendous respect in the society. Around 1000 scholarships are awarded to students appearing for Class VIII examination. It honours and helps talented students by providing financial assistance in the form of a monthly scholarship. For the courses in Basic Sciences, Social Sciences and Commerce, this assistance is provided up to Ph.D. level. For professional courses like Engineering, Medicine, Management and Law this assistance is given only up to Post Graduation.
The pattern of written examination
Stage I examination at the State/UT level will comprise two parts, namely
(a) Mental Ability Test (MAT) and
(b) Scholastic Ability Test (SAT) covering social sciences, sciences and mathematics.
Stage II examination at the National level will comprise
(a) Mental Ability Test (MAT),
(b) Scholastic Ability Test (SAT) covering social sciences, sciences and mathematics,
(c) Interview.
Only those candidates who qualify the written examination at the National Level will be invited for interview.
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Test |
Duration |
No. of items |
Max. Marks |
Qualifying Marks |
| Mental Ability Test (MAT) | 90 minutes | 100 | 100 | 40% i.e 40 marks |
| Scholastic Ability Test (SAT) | 90 minutes | 100 | 100 | 40% i.e 40 marks |
| Interview | 15-20 minutes | – | 25 | 40% i.e 40 marks |
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When is the NTSE conducted?
Stage:StageI(State)
Area Last Date for submission of Application form: 31 August, 2010 Examination in Mizoram, Meghalaya, Nagaland and Andaman and Nicobar Islands: 20th November, 2010 (Saturday) Examination in All other States and Union Territories: 21st November, 2010 (Sunday)
StageII(National)
Area: Examination in All states and Union Territories: 8th May, 2011 (Sunday)
When and How do I prepare for NTSE?
As per the announcement made by NCERT the NTSE is held in Class VIII only. Hence, it is essential that students start preparing from the beginning of Class VII or VIII. Students should focus on clearing their fundamentals and attempting a lot of practice tests.