ANNOUNCEMENT OF NATIONAL TALENT SEARCH EXAMINATION 2012

NCERT
National Talent Search Examination
National Council of Educational Research and Training
Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi – 110016
National Talent Search Scheme is a flagship activity of the NCERT started in the year 1963. The
purpose of the scheme was to identify talented students and nurture their talent.  Talent refers to the
potentiality that manifests itself in a high level of performance in one or more specialized areas.  The
scheme, therefore, covers areas like Sciences, Social Sciences, Engineering, Medicine, Management and
Law.  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 NCERT conducts the National Talent Search
Examination for students studying in Class VIII only.
1. Scholarships: On the basis of the examination conducted, 1000 scholarships will be awarded for
each group of students appearing for Class VIII examinations. The amount of scholarship will
be Rs.500/- per month as per NTS rules.
2. Reservation: 15% scholarships will be reserved for students belonging to the SC category, 7.5%
scholarships for students belonging to the ST category and 3% for Physically Challenged Group
of Students.
3. Selection: There will be two-stage selection process for award of scholarship. For Stage-I,
selection will be done by States/UTs through a written examination.  Students who qualify Stage
I will be eligible to appear for Stage II examination conducted by NCERT.
4. The States/UTs will also conduct the selection test for National Means-cum-Merit Scholarship
Scheme along with the Stage-I written examination for NTS.
5. Important Dates:   Dates for Submission of Application Form and conduct of examination are
given below:

Stage Area Dates
Stage I
(State)
Last Date for Submission of
Application Form
31ST AUGUST 2011

Examination in Mizoram, Meghalaya,
Nagaland and Andaman and Nicobar
Islands
19TH NOVEMBER 2011

Examination in All other States and
Union Territories
20TH NOVEMBER 2011

Stage II
(National)
Examination in All States and Union -  13 TH MAY 2012
Territories

6. Eligibility: Students of Class VIII studying in recognized schools are eligible to appear for the
respective Class VIII Stage I examination conducted by the States/UTs in which the schools are
located.  There will be no domicile restriction.7. Examination:  The pattern of written examination for Class VIII will be as follows:
 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.
8. State Quotas: 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 will be made available on
NCERT website.  However, there will be no State/Union Territory Quota for the final award of
scholarship after the Stage II examination.  Reservation for SC, ST and physically challenged will
be as notified in para 2 above.
9. Application Form: You may contact the State/UT Liaison officer for procuring application form.
However, application form can be downloaded from NCERT website <http://www.ncert.nic.in>
also.
10. The  completed application form  should be signed by Principal of the school.  The
candidate/Principal of the school must confirm the last date for submission of Application
Form and where to submit it from the State/ UT liaison officer whose addresses are given in
the  end/NCERT website. Different states may have different last dates for submission of
application forms. All queries relating to application forms should be made from State Liaison
Officers (LOs). No application should be sent to NCERT.
11. Fees:  States and Union Territories may notify the fee required which will be paid for the Stage-I
examination.   Therefore, before submitting the application form you may find out the fees
charged for 2011 Stage-I Examination and also the mode of payment from the respective State
Liaison Officers (LOs).  However, NCERT does not charge any fee for Stage-II examination.
12. Announcement of Results:    Results of the  Stage-I examination will be  declared by the
respective State Governments/ Union Territories.   Final result after the conduct of  Stage-II
examination will be declared by NCERT.
13. Indian Students Studying Abroad can appear directly for Stage II  NTS Examination under
conditions prescribed in the NTS brochure for class VIII which is available on the NCERT
website.  Candidates may fill up relevant items of the Application Form available on the NCERT
website and send to the undersigned along with a photocopy of the mark sheet of previous
examination latest by March 31, 2012.

Head
Department of Educational Measurement & Evaluation
National Council of Educational Research & Training
Sri Aurobindo Marg, New Delhi-110016

Disclaimer: NCERT has not authorized or approved tests conducted by any other agencies for
issue of certificates or award of scholarships and bears no responsibility whatsoever for them.

List of NTS Liaison Officers (To be attached separately)

NTSE INTERVIEW DISCONTINUANCE

                                                        Discontinuance of interview in 

                                                     National Talent Search Scheme
    The interview process for selection of awardees under 
    National Talent Search Scheme  is being discontinued 
    from the selection year 2011.  The candidates will be 
    selected on the basis of merit in the second level written 
    examination of Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and 
     Mental Ability Test (MAT) to be held on May 8, 2011. 

NTSE 2ND STAGE MAT QUESTION PAPER

NTSE MAT QUESTION PAPER IS AVAILABLE ON THIS WEBSITE
http://www.fiitjee.com/NTSE/ntsematsol11.pdf

FOR MORE NTSE DETAILS CONTACT - WWW.NCERT.NIC.IN

NATIONAL TALENT SEARCH EXAMINATION

The National Talent Search Examination (NTSE) is a national level scholarship program in India to identify and nurture talented students. The scheme is open to students of Indian nationality. Only students studying in Class VIII are eligible to appear for the selection process. As it is organized by an official body (NCERT), it is widely regarded as the toughest and most prestigious examination at high school level in the country. It helps students to proliferate their mental level and also helps them to sharpen their minds.

History

Soon after NCERT was established in 1961, a programme to identify and nurture the talented students took up three the shape of a scheme called National Science Talent Search Scheme (NSTSS) in the year 1963. The objective of this scheme was to identify talented students and awarding them with scholarships. During the first year of the implementation of the scheme, it was confined to the then Union Territory of Delhi wherein only 10 scholarships were awarded to the Class XI students.

Evolution of the pattern

In the year 1964 the scheme was extended to all the states and the union territories in the country with 350 scholarships for the students of Class XI. These scholarships were awarded on the basis of a written examination, a project report and an interview. The written examination comprised the Science Aptitude Test and an Essay on a given scientific theme. The candidates were to submit the project report at the time of the written examination. A stipulated number of candidates selected on the basis of these three components were then subjected to personal interview. The performance of the candidates on these four components was eventually employed for the purpose of awarding scholarships. These scholarships were awarded for pursuing education only in basic sciences up to doctoral level.

With the introduction of 10+2+3 pattern of education, the NSTS scheme also underwent a change in the year 1976. It was no longer confined to only basic sciences but was extended to Social Sciences, Engineering and medicine as well. It was renamed as National Talent Search Scheme (NTSS). Since the education system in India was undergoing a change, the scheme was made open to the students of Classes X, XI and XII and separate examinations were conducted for each class. The number of scholarships was raised to 500. The selection procedure was also changed. Now the candidates were subjected to two objective type written tests namely the Mental Ability Test (MAT) and the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT). A stipulated number of candidates qualifying these two tests were subjected to a face-to-face interview. The final awards were made on the basis of composite scores obtained in the MAT, the SAT and the interview.

The number of scholarships was again enhanced from 500 to 550 in the year 1981. These 50 scholarships were exclusively meant forScheduled Castes (SC) and Scheduled Tribes (ST) candidates. The number of scholarships was once again escalated to 750 in the year 1983 with a provision of 70 scholarships especially for SC/ST candidates. This arrangement continued until the scheme was decentralized in the year 1985. Yet another change in the scheme was effected from the year 2000 wherein the number of scholarships was raised from 750 to 1000 with the provision of reservation for SC and ST candidates based on the national norms of 15% and 7.5% respectively.

The scheme was partially decentralized in 1985 and was confined to only class X. Under the new arrangement, the selection of candidates for the awards became a two-tier process. The states and the union territories have been entrusted with the responsibility of conducting the first tier screening examination known as State Level Talent Search Examination. Each state and union territory selects and recommended a stipulated number (state quota) of candidates for the national level examination to be conducted for about 3000 candidates by the NCERT.

The states got complete autonomy to design and conduct their written examinations. However, they were advised to follow the national pattern which comprised MAT and SAT. The MAT, which consisted of 100 multiple choice type questions, was to be attempted by all the candidates. The SAT consisted of 25 multiple choice type questions each on eight subject areas namely Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, History, Geography, Civics and Economics. The candidates could choose any four out of these eight subjects and had to answer a total of 100 questions in the SAT.

A stipulated number of candidates who qualified at the national level examination were called for face-to-face interviews. The award of scholarships was finally determined on the basis of the candidates’ scores obtained in all three components namely the MAT, the SAT and the Interview.

A crucial modification in the scheme was again made in the year 1995 when the provision of choice in the SAT was abolished and all the subjects were made compulsory. These subjects were Science, Social Science and Mathematics with 40, 40 and 20 questions respectively.

The scholarships under the present scheme are awarded to the candidates for pursuing courses in sciences and social sciences up to doctoral level and in professional courses like medicine and engineering up to second-degree level subject to the fulfillment of the conditions provided . also, an important decision was taken in the year 2008, when NTSE is open only to the students of class VIII as against class X earlier. There was another modification in 2011 when the interview was removed. Also NCERT removed the 10 subjective questions, MAKING NTSE A TOTALLY OBJECTIVE TEST. It has also released the second round question papers. But the system still remains opaque compared to KVPY and IIT-JEE..

Selection procedure

Identification of talent comprises a three-stage selection process. While the individual state or union territory conducts the first stage selection (usually 2nd/3rd Sunday of November)-for NTSE 2011: 21st November 2010 for most states/UTs, 20th november for some states, the second stage selection at the national level is carried out by the NCERT, usually on the second Sunday of May (8th May 2011 for NTSE 2011). This is followed by the interview of the selected 1500-1600 students.

Eligibility

Before 2006, all students studying in Class X in any type of recognized school were eligible to appear at the state level examination from thestate in which the school is located. The state could impose any other eligibility condition for appearing in the screening examination like any qualifying percentage of marks in the previous annual examination, etc. But from 2006 onwards, a separate examination for Class VIII was started. More than 1,50,000 students appear for the screening examination of the NTSE every year.

From 2008-2009 '''National Talent Search examination'' will be held only for class VIII

State level examination

The state level examination has two parts for nominating the required number of candidates for the second level test to be conducted by the NCERT.

• Part-I:Mental Ability Test (MAT), and
• Part-II: Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)

National level examination

Candidates acquiring more than the required percentage in the state level examination and standing within a specified number of top ranks (state quota) are eligible to appear for the national level examination (about top 3000 students from the entire country). NCERT conducts the National Level NTS each year in the 2nd week of May . The national level examination has two parts for nominating the required number of candidates for the interviews to be conducted by the NCERT in July/August:

• Part-I:Mental Ability Test (MAT), and
• Part-II: Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT)(with questions on history, civics, geography, rarely economics, maths, physics, chemistry and biology.)

It is usually conducted on 2nd Sunday in May. For NTSE 2011, National Level Exam was conducted on 8th May 2011.

Syllabus

There is no Prescribed syllabus for the NTSE examination. However, the standard of items conforms to the level of CBSE Class 8 Public Examinations. Also, parts of classes IX and X are also included especially in Sciences and mathematics, wherein one is expected to have a sound knowledge of the things already learnt at lower classes. Since many of the things learnt at class VIII level are also included in class IX/X syllabus, therefore such concepts may be evaluated. Several guides are also published by various publishers to aid NTSE aspirants. It has also been noticed that questions come from NCERT 6th-8th too. Some states put higher class questions like Orissa.

Scheme of Testing

The scheme of testing for second stage of NTSE is given below:

Note: Qualifying marks do not imply that any student securing above the cut-off will qualify for the next level. It simply means that this is the minimum qualifying marks NCERT is looking for. Selection will depend upon the rank of the candidate. In NTSE first stage, there are 90 questions in 90 minutes in SAT and MAT each. In first stage there is no interview. However, the patern varies from state to state. NTSE 2009 final results, the cut-off marks for general category stood at 155/225 (200 for written test+25 for interview), for SC-122/225, for ST-118/225 and for PC/disabled-72/225.NTSE 2010 results: Final cutoff 163 for General, 133 for SC and 125 for ST The students who qualify all the stages of NTSE successfully are eligible for scholarship. The amount of scholarship has been enhanced to Rs. 500/- per monthfor all the students studying in Class VIII onwards except for Ph.D., wherein it is paid according to UGC norms. The older system of book grant has been removed. The criterion of parental income for deciding payment of scholarship has also been discontinued. From 2011 no interview will be held in NTSE.

NTSE 1st Round (State Level- Address details)

THE CUTT

THE

A & N Islands

Phone Number:            03192- 232730      
Address: PrincipalState Institute of Education Siksha Sadan, Link RoadPort Blair-744101
Website:www.and.nic.in

Chandigarh

Phone:            0172-2676011      
Address: DirectorState Institute of Education, Sector-32C, Chandigarh-160031
Website: www.siechd.nic.in

D & N Haveli

Phone: 0260-3091808, 09998910110
Address: Headmaster, Govt High School ,Zanda Chawk, Silvassa, Via Vapi-396230
Website:

Daman & Diu

Phone number:0260-2633406
Address: Headmaster,Govt High School, Panchvati, Opposite Custom House,Vaniyawad, Nani Daman-396210

Lakshadweep

Phone: 04896-262874
Principal
Govt Sr. Secondary School
Kavaratti Island -682555
Website:

Delhi

Phone No: 01126280413, 01126280410
Address: Senior Science Counsellor,Science branchDirectorate of Education,Behind LSR College,Amar Colony, Lajpat Nagar IV, New Delhi 24
Website: www.edudel.nic.in

Pondicherry

Phone No: 0413-2207203
Address: Joint Director, Directorate of School EducationAnna nagar,Puducherry-605005
Website:

Andhra Pradesh

Phone No: 040-23237343, 040-23237344
Address: Deputy Commissioner, Office of the Director of Govt Examinations, Chapel Road, ABIDS, Hyderabad-500001
Website:

Arunachal Pradesh

Phone No:            0360-2290471      
Address: Deputy Director, Directorate of School Education. Govt of Arunachal Pradesh, Naharlagun -791111Arunachal Pradesh
Website:

Assam

Phone No:            0361-2381657      
Address: Deputy Director, Office of the Director of Secondary Education, Kahilipara, GuwahatiAssam-781019
Website:

Bihar

Phone No: 0612-2370783
Address: Director,SCERT Mahendru Post Office, Patna-800006
Website:www.educationbihar.in/scert.asp

Chattisgarh

Phone No:            0771-2442241      ,            0771-2443596      
Address: Professor, SCERT, DIET Campus, Shankar nagar, Raipur, Chattisgarh-492007
Website: www.cg.nic.in

Goa

Phone No:            0832-2417276      
Address: Joint Director, State Institute of Education, Alto-Porvorim, Bardez-403521
Website:www.goagovt.nic.in

Gujarat

Phone No:            079-23248461      , 23248462
Address: Chairman, Gujarat State Examination Board, Near Govt Library, Sector 21Gandhinagar-382021
Website:www.gujarat-education.gov.in

Haryana

Phone No:            0124-2320628      
Address: Lecturer (Physics), Science Wing, SCERT, Sohna Road, Opposite panchayat Bhawan, Gurgoan-122001
Website:www.scertharyana.in

Himachal Pradesh

Phone:            01792-228135      
Address: Principal,SCERT, RABON,Solan-173211, HP
Website: www.educationhp.org , himachal.nic.in

J & K

Phone No:            0191-2585480      
Address: Director (Academic) / Liaison Officer, J & K State Board of School Education,Rehari Colony, Jammu -180001
Phone No:            0194-2494522      
Address: Director (Academic) / Liaison Officer, J & K State Board of School Education, New Campus, Lalmandi, Bemina, Srinagar-190018
Website: jkbose.co.in

Jharkhand

Phone No: 0651-2315012
Fax: 0651-2315012
Address: Deputy Director (Secondary Education), Directorate of Secondary Education, Department of HRD, Telephone Bhavan, Dhruva, Ranchi, Jharkhand- 834004
Website:

Karnataka

Phone No:
            080-26422239      ,            080-26422372      ,            080-26422306      
Address: Director, DSERT , No 4, 100 feet Ring Road, Banashankari, 3rd stage, Bangalore - 560085
Website:www.dsert.kar.nic.in

Kerala

Phone No: 0471- 2341883
0471-2340323
Address: Assistant Professor, SCERT, Vidhya Bhavan, Poojappura, Thiruvanthapuram 695012
Website:www.scert.kerala.gov.in

MP (Madhya Pradesh)

Phone No:            0755-2768395      ,            0755-4229399      
Fax: 0755-4229399
Address: Coordinator NTSE, Rajya Siksha Kendra, Pustak, Bhawan, B Wing, Area Hills, Bhopal - 462011
Website: www.ssa.mp.gov.in

Maharashtra

Phone No:            020-26139525      (number not working),            020-26123066      ,            020-26123067      
Address: Commissioner, Maharashtra State Council of Examinations, 17- Dr Ambedkar Road, Pune 411001
Website: www.mcse.mah.nic.in , ms-ce.org

Manipur

Phone No:            0385-2415604      
Address: Science Promotion Officer, Directorate of Education (Schools) , lamphelpat, Imphal - 795004
Website:www.ednmanipur.nic.in

Meghalaya

Phone No:            0364-2233752      
Address: Sr. Lecturer, Directorate of Educational Research and Training (DERT) , Arbuthnot Road,Nongrimmaw, Shillong 793011
Website:

Mizoram

Phone No:            0389-2343200      
Address: Deputy Director, SCERT, Chaltland, Aizawl, Mizoram-796012
Website: www.mizoram.nic.in

Nagaland

Phone No:            0370-2270160      
Address: Secretary
Bureau of Elementary Education, Directorate of School Education, Kohima-797001
Website:

Orissa

Phone No: 0674-2502928
Fax: 0674-2513254
Address: Deputy Director (Admn)
Directorate of TE and SCERT, Unit IVBhuvaneshwar 751001
Website:www.scertorissa.org

Punjab

Phone No:            0172-2780141      
Address: Lecturer
State Institute of Science Education (Punjab), SCO 66-67, Sector 17-A, Chandigarh-160017
Website:www.punjabeducation.gov.in
www.ssapunjab.org

Rajasthan

Phone No:            0294-2415171      
Address: Director, State Institute of Educational research and Training, 111, Saheli Marg, Udaipur-313001
Website

Sikkim

Phone No:            03592-201029      
PABX- 220903
Address: Deputy Director (Exam), HRD, Department of Education, Govt of Sikkim, Tashiling Secretariat, Gangtok-737101
Website: sikkim.gov.in

Tamil Nadu

Phone No: 044-28272088, 28278286, 28203089
Address: Director, Directorate of Govt Examinations, Colelge Road, Nungambakkam,Chennai-600006
Website: www.dge.tn.gov.in

Tripura

Phone No:            0381-2354867      
Address: Deputy Director of Education, SCERT, Abhoy Nagar, Agartala - 799005
Website:www.tripura.nic.in

Uttar Pradesh

Phone No: 0532-2256511
Address: Director
Bureau of Psychology, SCERT, 2 Lowther Road, Allahabad -211001
Website: www.scertup.org

Uttaranchal

Phone No: 01378-227459
Address: Assistant Director, SCERT Uttaranchal, AT & PO Narendra Nagar ,Tehri Garhwal-249175
Website:www.gov.ua.nic.in

West Bengal

Phone No:            033-23345952      
            033-23344504      
Address: Assistant Director of School Education (Budget),Directorate of School Education,Bikas Bhawan, 7th floor, East Block, Salt Lake City, Kolkatta-700091
Website:www.scertwestbengal.org

THE CUT OFF MARK OF STATE LEVEL EXAM WILL BE - 131 -135 EXPECTED