CTET 2026 Syllabus Paper 1: The Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) will conduct the CTET 2026 exam for the February session on February 8, 2026. Both Paper 1 and Paper 2 will be held on this date in offline mode across 132 test centres in India.

The exam authority will conduct Paper 1 and Paper 2 of CTET 2026 to assess the eligibility of aspiring teachers for Classes I–V and Classes VI–VIII, respectively.

This article provides detailed information about the CTET 2026 Syllabus for Paper 1 to help aspiring Primary Teachers (Classes I–V) with their exam preparation. The syllabus includes five sections: 1) Child Development and Pedagogy, 2) Mathematics, 3) Environmental Studies, 4) Language I, and 5) Language II. Find the important topics and subtopics for each section here.

Note: The details about the CTET syllabus are based on the previous year’s information brochure. If there are any changes in the CTET 2026 February Syllabus for Paper 1 as per the CTET February 2026 Information Brochure, these details will be updated accordingly.

CTET 2026 Exam Pattern

Candidates preparing for the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET) 2026 must understand the exam pattern, as the structure of the question paper will depend on it. Therefore, formulating a preparation strategy according to the CTET 2026 Exam Pattern, along with a thorough understanding of the official syllabus, is crucial to crack the exam.

Check out all the important details about the exam pattern below:

CTET 2026 Pattern for Paper 1

Section

No. of Questions (MCQs)

Marks

Child Development and Pedagogy

30

30

Language I (compulsory)

30

30

Language II (compulsory)

30

30

Mathematics

30

30

Environmental Studies

30

30

Total

150

150

Candidates preparing for CTET 2026 Paper 2 along with Paper 1 can refer to the Paper 2 exam pattern mentioned below:

CTET 2026 Pattern for Paper 2

Section

No. of Questions (MCQs)

Marks

Child Development and Pedagogy

30

30

Language I

30

30

Language II

30

30

Mathematics and Science (for Maths/Science teachers), OR

Social Studies/Social Science (for SST teachers)

60

60

Total

150

150

CTET 2026 Language Options

For both Paper 1 and Paper 2 of CTET 2026, candidates must select two languages for the Language I and Language II sections. They should choose the languages in which they are proficient. The available options for these languages are listed below.​

Language

Code No.

English

01

Hindi

02

Assamese

03

Bengali

04

Garo

05

Gujarati

06

Kannada

07

Khasi

08

Malayalam

09

Manipuri

10

Marathi

11

Mizo

12

Nepali

13

Odia

14

Punjabi

15

Sanskrit

16

Tamil

17

Telugu

18

Tibetan

19

Urdu

20

CTET 2026 Syllabus for Paper 1

Candidates who want to become Primary Teachers (PRTs) for Classes I–V in India must appear for CTET Paper 1. Paper 1 comprises five sections: Child Development and Pedagogy, Mathematics, Environmental Studies, Language I, and Language II.​

The CTET 2026 Paper 1 syllabus for all sections is provided as follows:

CTET 2026 Paper 1 Syllabus: Child Development and Pedagogy

The Child Development and Pedagogy section of CTET focuses on the educational psychology of teaching and learning relevant to the age group of 6–11 years. Topics in this section are designed to assess candidates' understanding of the characteristics and needs of diverse learners and effective methods of interaction.​

All the important topics related to the CTET Child Development and Pedagogy section for Paper 1 are as follows:

Section

Topics / Details

I. Child Development and Pedagogy (30 Questions)

a) Child Development (Primary School Child) – 15 Questions

  1. Concept of development and its relationship with learning

  2. Principles of the development of children

  3. Influence of Heredity & Environment

  4. Socialization processes: Social world & children (Teacher, Parents, Peers)

  5. Piaget, Kohlberg and Vygotsky: constructs and critical perspectives

  6. Concepts of child-centered and progressive education

  7. Critical perspective of the construct of Intelligence

  8.  Multi-Dimensional Intelligence

  9. Language & Thought

  10. Gender as a social construct: gender roles, gender-bias and educational practice

  11.  Individual differences among learners: understanding differences based on diversity of language, caste, gender, community, religion etc.

  12. Distinction between Assessment for learning and assessment of learning; School-Based Assessment, Continuous & Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE): perspective and practice

  13. Formulating appropriate questions for assessing readiness levels of learners, for enhancing learning and critical thinking in the classroom and for assessing learner achievement

b) Concept of Inclusive Education and Understanding Children with Special Needs – 5 Questions

  1. Addressing learners from diverse backgrounds including disadvantaged and deprived

  2. Addressing the needs of children with learning difficulties, “impairment”, etc.

  3. Addressing the Talented, Creative, Specially abled Learner

c) Learning and Pedagogy – 10 Questions

  1. How children think and learn; how and why children “fail” to achieve success in school performance

  2. Basic processes of teaching and learning; children’s strategies of learning; learning as a social activity; social context of learning

  3. Child as a problem solver and a “scientific investigator”

  4. Alternative conceptions of learning in children: understanding children’s “errors” as significant steps in the learning process

  5. Cognition & Emotions

  6. Motivation and learning

  7. Factors contributing to learning – personal & environmental

CTET 2026 Paper 1 Syllabus: Mathematics

The Mathematics section of CTET Paper 1 focuses on core concepts, candidates' problem-solving abilities, pedagogical understanding, and practical applications. The syllabus for this section includes the following topics:

Section

Topics / Details

Mathematics (30 Questions)

a) Content – 15 Questions

  1. Geometry

  2. Shapes & Spatial Understanding

  3. Solids around Us

  4. Numbers

  5. Addition and Subtraction

  6. Multiplication

  7. Division

  8. Measurement

  9. Weight

  10. Time

  11. Volume

  12. Data Handling

  13. Patterns

  14. Money

b) Pedagogical issues

  1. Nature of Mathematics / Logical thinking; understanding children’s thinking and reasoning patterns and strategies of making meaning and learning

  2. Place of Mathematics in Curriculum

  3. Language of Mathematics

  4. Community Mathematics

  5. Evaluation through formal and informal methods

  6. Problems of Teaching

  7. Error analysis and related aspects of learning and teaching

  8. Diagnostic and Remedial Teaching

CTET 2026 Paper 1 Syllabus: Environmental Studies

Similar to the Mathematics section, the CTET 2026 Paper 1 syllabus for Environmental Studies emphasises conceptual clarity, problem-solving skills, and pedagogical perspectives. Major topics in this section are listed below:

Section

Subtopics / Details

Environmental Studies (30 Questions)

a) Content – 15 Questions

  1. Family and Friends: Relationships, Work and Play, Animals, Plants

  2. Food

  3. Shelter

  4. Water

  5. Travel

  6. Things We Make and Do

b) Pedagogical Issues – 15 Questions

  1. Concept and scope of EVS

  2. Significance of EVS, integrated EVS

  3. Environmental Studies & Environmental Education

  4. Learning Principles

  5. Scope & relation to Science & Social Science

  6. Approaches of presenting concepts

  7. Activities

  8. Experimentation / Practical Work

  9. Discussion

  10. Continuous and Comprehensive Evaluation (CCE)

  11. Teaching material / Aids

  12. Problems

CTET 2026 Paper 1 Syllabus: Language I

The Language I section of CTET 2026 Paper 1 is designed to evaluate candidates’ proficiency in the medium of instruction. Topics covered in the section are mentioned below: ​

Language I (30 Questions)

a) Language Comprehension – 15 Questions

  1. Reading unseen passages – two passages (one prose or drama and one poem) with questions on comprehension, inference, grammar, and verbal ability

  2. Prose passage may be literary, scientific, narrative, or discursive

b) Pedagogy of Language Development – 15 Questions

  1. Learning and acquisition

  2. Principles of language teaching

  3. Role of listening and speaking; function of language and how children use it as a tool

  4. Critical perspective on the role of grammar in learning a language for communicating ideas verbally and in written form

  5. Challenges of teaching language in a diverse classroom: language difficulties, errors, and disorders

  6. Language skills

  7. Evaluating language comprehension and proficiency: speaking, listening, reading, and writing

  8. Teaching-learning materials: textbook, multimedia materials, multilingual resources of the classroom

  9. Remedial Teaching

CTET 2026 Paper 1 Syllabus: Language II

For the Language II section, the CTET 2026 Paper 1 Syllabus focuses on language elements, communication, and comprehension skills. This includes the types of topics listed below:

Section

Subtopics / Details

Language II (30 Questions)

a) Comprehension – 15 Questions

  1. Two unseen prose passages (discursive or literary or narrative or scientific) with questions on comprehension, grammar, and verbal ability

b) Pedagogy of Language Development – 15 Questions

  1. Learning and acquisition

  2. Principles of language teaching

  3. Role of listening and speaking; function of language and how children use it as a tool

  4. Critical perspective on the role of grammar in learning a language for communicating ideas verbally and in written form

  5. Challenges of teaching language in a diverse classroom: language difficulties, errors, and disorders

  6. Language skills

  7. Evaluating language comprehension and proficiency: speaking, listening, reading, and writing

  8. Teaching-learning materials: textbook, multimedia materials, multilingual resources of the classroom

  9. Remedial Teaching

CTET Syllabus 2026 PDF Download

The CTET Syllabus 2026 for the February session will be released along with the CTET 2026 February Information Brochure on the official CTET website — ctet.nic.in. The PDF will be provided below once it becomes available.

CTET Feb 2026 Syllabus for Paper 1

To be released

Conclusion

The CTET 2026 Paper 1 syllabus has been designed to assess the eligibility of candidates aspiring to become Primary Teachers for Classes I–V in India. The syllabus comprises five sections: Child Development and Pedagogy, Mathematics, Environmental Studies, Language I, and Language II. Each section contains 30 questions, with each question carrying 1 mark.​

To prepare for CTET 2026 Paper 1, candidates must refer to the official syllabus. For effective exam preparation, they can also use the detailed syllabus provided above.