Update on 2024-04-15

What is PGT? Check PGT Full Form, Exam Dates & its Eligibility

Introduction of PGT:

The full form of PGT is Post Graduate Teacher. This is a post in the teaching field. The responsibility of a PGT is to teach higher secondary classes. So, they will get the highest salary in the field of school education. Also, Government schools give opportunities for aspirants to become PGT.

The teaching field is one of the conventional job fields. This field has great career opportunities for aspirants. One prestigious role is PGT where you can get maximum advantage with minimum efforts. To become a PGT, you should fulfil the minimum qualification requirement. This is the highest post for a teacher in school education teaching. Your salary package, comfort, and reputation will be very good.

You can apply to either private institutions or government institutions. You need to qualify for a state-level exam to make your career in a government school. However, the salary package will be more than that in a private institution. In the case of private schools, you don’t need to qualify for any entrance exam. As a PGT, you are eligible to teach higher secondary classes. But your promotion will be based on your experience.

PGT Exams:

Several PGT exams help you get selected in a government school. You will be able to get a good salary and work environment after qualifying for these exams. However, these exams have certain eligibility criteria.

Uttar Pradesh Secondary Education Service Selection Board:

This is a board that conducts PGT, TGT, and PRT exams for the recruitment of teachers in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Aspirants who want to make their future in the teaching field and meet the eligibility criteria can apply for the exam.

Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan: This is an organization regulated by the Ministry of Human Resource Development. This organization has around 1235 schools across India. This organization conducts PGT exams for aspirants who want to become a teacher of higher secondary education.

Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti: This is the regulatory body of Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya. These schools are spread at different locations in India and provide education. Candidates who want to teach higher secondary classes can apply for PGT exams conducted by the Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti.

Eligibility to Become a PGT:

Before applying for a PGT, a candidate must fulfil the minimum eligibility criteria. This eligibility criterion depends upon your qualification. Any candidate who meets the minimum requirement can apply for the post. The eligibility criteria remain the same whether you apply for a government school or a private institution. Also, some private institutions require additional qualifications.

A candidate who has a post-graduation in English can not teach history. The reason is that you can only apply for that subject in which you have a post-graduation. If you have your post-graduation in Maths you can apply as a Maths teacher. You will be able to teach mathematics to higher secondary classes.

The following is the eligibility to become a PGT:

A candidate must have a post-graduation in the concerned subject.
They should have completed B.Ed.
The candidate must have scored at least 50% marks in their PG from a recognized university.

Apart from these eligibility criteria, an aspirant has to qualify for an entrance exam to make their career in a government school. These entrance exams may be state level or national level. After qualifying for the entrance exam for a government school, you will get more benefits than in a normal private school. Apart from educational qualification, a candidate should also meet the age limits. You can not apply for PGT exams if you don’t meet the age limits. The age limit may be different in private institutions. However, it remains similar to most of the government exams.

The minimum age limit is 21 years.
The maximum age limit is 40 years.

Anyone who doesn’t fit in this age limit can not apply for PGT exams. Another important requirement is that you should be proficient in Hindi and English. Sometimes, you need to be proficient in the state’s native language also. This is very important for the sake of communication. If you are unable to communicate with students, you could not possibly become a good teacher.

PGT Salary:

The salary package of a Post Graduate Teacher is the highest among other teachers. They teach higher secondary classes. As compared to TGT and PRT, a PGT has to work hard. So, they obviously deserve a higher salary. Also, a PGT will get more salary in a government school than in a private institution. The increment of a government teacher of the higher secondary class is comparable to that of higher authorities. Apart from that, they have good working conditions. After an experience of a few years, they earn even more. So, aspirants who are looking to make their career in the teaching field should try for a PGT job profile.

The initial salary of a PGT in a government institution is around 45,000 - 50,000 Rs. This is a good amount as a fresher. After gaining experience, they will even get around 1.5 lakhs. This depends upon their experience and level of knowledge. Apart from the basic salary, they also get ‘DA’ of around 7% of their salary.

If we consider the salary of a Post Graduate Teacher in a private institution, we should consider the following factors:

The salary of a postgraduate teacher depends upon the institution. If a teacher is teaching in a reputed institution, they will obviously earn well. However, a small institution will be unable to pay them much.
Another factor that decides your salary in a private institution is your experience. The more experience you have, the more salary you will get. Because the experience is related to your knowledge of that subject.

How to Become a PGT Teacher in KVS:

The process to become a PGT is similar in most government institutions. Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan (KVS) releases notifications regarding the recruitment of postgraduate teachers on the official website. Aspiring candidates need to check the notification. It will tell them about every important information regarding the exam. Before applying for the exam, read the notification carefully.

If you meet the eligibility criteria which in most cases are similar, you can apply for the exam. Visit the official website and click on apply now. While filling the application form, mention all the details carefully. Because any wrong detail may lead to the cancellation of the application form. Also, these details will appear on your admit card. The details should be the same as in your documents.

After filling the application form, KVS processes your form and generates the admit card for the exam. The exam is an offline written exam that contains two sections. One section checks your proficiency in Hindi and English. And the other section checks your general knowledge and subject knowledge. The written exam is for around 320 marks.

After the written exam, the final stage is the interview. In the interview, you will be asked questions based on work ethics. You need to give good answers with fluency. The main motive of this interview is to personality and professionalism. If you qualify for the written exam but are unable to qualify for the interview, you will not get selected for the PGT. You need to qualify for the written exam and interview separately.

Difference Between PGT, TGT, and PRT:

PGT (Post Graduate Teacher):

PGT exams are conducted to recruit postgraduate teachers for higher secondary classes. These teachers will teach in government schools. This is the most reputed post for a school teacher. You will have the benefits of a good salary, working conditions, holidays, etc. However, beginners have to work hard to make things easy for them. After a certain time, you will get the most from this post.

A PGT who has done his PG in English is eligible to teach English in higher secondary classes. Similarly, if you have a PG in computer science, you will be able to teach computer science subjects. It is essential to have a PG in the subject which you want to teach. Every state conducts PGT exams for teachers who want to make their career in the teaching field. The minimum qualification to apply for PGT exams is a post-graduation along with B.Ed. You should be done with your PG from a subject which you want to teach in higher secondary.

TGT (Trained Graduate Teacher):

The state government conducts the Trained Graduate Teacher (TGT) exam. Applicants who want to teach upper primary and senior secondary classes (5th - 10th) in a government school should apply for TGT exams. They will get a good opportunity to make their career in the teaching field. To apply for a TGT exam you need to fulfil the minimum eligibility criteria. This is different from a PGT exam.

Applicants should have completed graduation from a recognized university with at least 50% marks.
They should have finished a B.Ed from a recognized university.
Applicants need to qualify for the TET exam of the respective state.

PRT (Primary Teacher):

PRT stands for Primary Teacher, this is the most basic post for a candidate in a government school. Applicants who applied for this post teach primary classes. They can apply for the government as well as private institutions. The salary of a PRT is low as compared to the TGT and PGT. However, the salary of a primary teacher in a government school is better than that in private schools.

Similar to PGT and TGT, a PRT also has some minimum qualifications. So, before applying for a primary teaching job, you need to meet these requirements. The eligibility criteria for a PRT remains the same whether you apply for a private school or a government school.

Applicants should have qualified their intermediate from a recognized board with at least 50% marks.
They should have cleared the CTET conducted by the CBSE.
They should be proficient in both Hindi and English.

Selection Procedure of a PGT:

Before applying for a PGT exam, you should know the selection procedure for PGT. Every state conducts a teacher's eligibility test. They release the notification regarding the exam. All the necessary information regarding the exam is available in the notification. So, the applicants can read it and apply for the exam. Candidates need to fulfil the eligibility criteria before they fill the application form.

After successfully applying for the exam. The exam conducting authority declares the exam date and generates your's admit card. Applicants can download their admit card from the official website of the exam conducting authority. These admit cards are their entry pass for the exam. Those candidates who have admit cards will be allowed to sit in the exam.

The selection of the candidates will be based on two parameters: a written exam and an interview. Both of these phases are important. If a candidate performs well in the written examination but is unable to score the minimum marks in the interview, he will not be selected. They need to get a minimum score in both these stages.

Written Examination:

The exam is conducted in offline mode. The toughness level of the exam is comparable to a post-graduation level exam. Applicants need to work hard in preparation. The written examination consists of two parts.

Part I consists of two subjects (General English and General Hindi). This part checks your proficiency in Hindi and English language.
Part II consists of subjects like General knowledge and current affairs and subjects related to your PG.

Interview:

After successfully qualifying for the written examination, the next stage is the interview. In this stage questions related to general knowledge and work, ethics will be asked. If you score sufficient marks in the interview, you will get selected for the PGT profile. The total marks of the PGT exam are around 400 marks. The ratio of weightage of marks in written examination and interview is 4:1. You need to score minimum marks in individual stages. Otherwise, you will not get selected for the PGT profile.