How to Become a Teacher?

To become a teacher in India, you need to complete various courses for which you first need to qualify the relevant entrance exam to get into prospective colleges that offer these courses. The top entrance exams for becoming a teacher include CTET, TET, STET, NET, KVS Exam, etc. The minimum eligibility criteria to become a teacher in India requires you to graduate in any stream from a recognised university and acquire the relevant skill set.

The salary of a teacher in India varies depending upon their post, employment sector, work experience, etc. Read the article given below to get a comprehensive insight into how to become a teacher in India.

Types of Teachers

A teacher is an individual who is responsible for imparting knowledge about a specific subject to students, helping them to learn and grow in a structured educational setting. The eligibility criteria and average salary differ for each type of teacher. There are various types of teacher roles such as:

• Pre-Primary Teachers
• Primary Teachers
• Secondary Teachers
• Senior Secondary Teachers
• Educator or Tutor, etc.

Also Read:How to Become a School Teacher?

How to Become a Teacher in India?

To get complete information about becoming a teacher, you must complete the entire journey explained below.

• First and foremost, you need to complete class 12th with a good percentage from a recognised board.
• Now, you have to complete your B.Ed degree which is the most popular course among those who want to pursue a career as a teacher. 
• After completing your B.Ed degree, you are required to select any one of the three teaching levels including primary level (Classes I to V), secondary level (Classes VI to VIII), or higher secondary level (Classes IX to XII).
• Now after finalizing the grade you are interested in teaching, you need to fulfill the requirements for the same. The admission process requires you to qualify entrance examinations such as the Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET), which is a national-level teacher eligibility exam or state-level teacher entrance tests that can also be qualified to become a teacher. CTET provides more job opportunities throughout the nation in comparison to state level teacher entrance tests.
• After qualifying the relevant entrance exam, you have to apply for teaching positions in schools you prefer. CTET scorecard remains valid for seven years from the date of release of result. If you have qualified CTET, you can apply to various government schools administered by the Central Government, U/T administrative regions as well as in schools run by private entities. State government, government- aided schools and local level schools also consider CTET while hiring candidates. 
• Once you are shortlisted, you will be called for an interview. In some schools, teachers also have to appear for an exam conducted at school level.
• After qualifying the interview, you are granted the position if all the requirements are fulfilled.

Eligibility Criteria to Become a Teacher

The eligibility criteria to become a teacher in India is explained below:

• You need to complete 10+2 from a recognised school in any stream with a minimum of 50% marks in the final year.
• Further, you must complete your graduation from a recognised university in any stream with the minimum of 50% marks in the final year degree examinations.
• Next, you need to complete your B.Ed or integrated B.Ed degrees with a minimum of 50% marks from a recognised university in the desired stream.
• If you have pursued post graduation in any subject with a minimum of 55% marks from a recognised university then also you are eligible to apply.

Is There an Age Limit to Becoming a Teacher? 

There is no age limit to become a teacher in India, however, it is recommended to begin fulfilling your career requirements as soon as possible in order to get more diverse career opportunities. Some colleges may have an age limit for their B.Ed admissions which students will be required to meet for pursuing the degree. 

Skills Required to Become a Teacher

Completing degrees and qualifying exams are not enough to become a teacher, you also need to acquire a certain skill set in order to increase your chances of getting more career opportunities in future.

The skills required for a teacher include:

• Good communication skills
• Decision making abilities
• Problem solving abilities
• Strategic management
• Classroom management
• Maintaining the relationship between teacher and student
• Attention for detail
• Being an active listener
• Being empathetic etc.

How to Apply for Becoming a Teacher?

Once you have met the eligibility criteria, your next step must be to apply for various entrance exams in order to become a teacher. Numerous entrance tests are conducted by the central and state government to apply for becoming a teacher in India. Some of the popular teaching entrance exams are listed below.

• Teacher Eligibility Test (TET): Both national and state governments in India conduct this exam. The exam is divided into two papers and both of them have to be qualified.
• Central Teacher Eligibility Test (CTET): This exam is conducted by the CBSE for teaching jobs in schools under the Central Government of India. The schools situated in Union Territories (UT) also require candidates to qualify CTET in order to gain employment in schools administered by government aided and local entities.
• State Teacher Eligibility Test (STET): These exams are conducted by State Governments to offer jobs to those who are interested in teaching in schools administered by them.

To apply for these exams, you need to visit the official website of the conducting bodies and fill the application forms as well as pay the application fee. 

How to Prepare for a Teacher Entrance Exam? 

In order to prepare for a teacher entrance exam, you need to first understand the entire admission journey. The limited number of seats increase the competition for the posts offered through these exams. Therefore, it is very important to prepare well for the teacher entrance exams for which you can follow some of the tips given below.

• You must be well aware of the exam pattern, detailed syllabus, marking scheme and subject wise distribution of marks prior to the exam.
• You must focus more upon important topics and not leave any subject while preparing.
• To understand the exam structure and know how the questions and answer choices are framed, you must solve previous year question papers.
• To get a real sense of the exam and to know your level of preparation, you can solve as many sample papers which will eventually help you perform better in the real exam.
• Revise multiple times, create your own notes for easy retention of information.
• Use a limited number of books and revise from them repeatedly rather than struggling with a lot of preparation material.

How to Prepare for a Teacher Personal Interview?

If you have qualified the entrance exam, you might have to appear for a personal interview round to become a teacher. In order to increase your chances of success in the personal interview, can make use of the following tips and tricks.

• Be confident and honest while answering questions.
• You need to be proficient in the English language and have good communication skills in order to ace your interview for which you can start reading and speaking more to get fluent.
• Do not answer vaguely and try to drive the interview more towards the areas which are your strengths.
• Stay alert during the interview and have eye to eye contact with their interviewer. 
• Avoid being anxious and try to make interesting conversations. 
• Be on time for the interview, coming late has a negative impression on the interviewer.

Final Step to Becoming a Teacher

The last/ final step to becoming a teacher after qualifying the exam and personal interview involves submitting your personal and professional documents for verification purposes and appearing for the job on the allocated date and time.

Application and Exam Dates for Teacher Entrance Exams

Some of the teacher entrance exams and their application and examination schedule is tabulated below.

Also Read:Teacher Training Courses After 12th

Courses to Become a Teacher

You need to complete your graduation and then a B.Ed and even an M.Ed to become a teacher. However, nowadays, there are various integrated degrees offered by colleges and universities that help you complete graduation as well as a B.Ed degree simultaneously which eventually helps in saving time and attaining a dual degree.

Some of the courses to pursue in order to become a teacher or to help you score more in teaching entrance exams are as follows:

• BA B.Ed Integrated Course: This course is offered for a duration of four years and provides both BA and B.Ed degree at the time of graduation. To pursue this degree, you are required to score a minimum of 50% marks in 10+2 with English as a core subject.
• B.Sc B.Ed Integrated Course: This course is offered for a duration of four years and provides both BA and B.Sc degrees. Completion of 10+2 with minimum of 50% aggregate and Science as the main subject is required to be eligible for the course.
• D.El.Ed: This is a diploma level course, which stands for Diploma in Elementary Education (D.El.Ed). It is offered for a duration of two years and can be pursued after completing 10+2 in any subject with a minimum of 50% marks.
• B.El.Ed: Another popular degree, Bachelor in Elementary Education (B.El.Ed), is also offered to students for a duration of three years. The degree can be taken up after completing 10+2 in any subject with a minimum of 50% marks.
• B.P.Ed: If you have an interest in sports and physical education, then you can pursue a Bachelor in Physical Education (B.P.Ed) course for a duration of three years, for which you are required to complete class 12th with a minimum of 50% marks in any stream.
• B.Ed: A Bachelor of Education (B.Ed) degree is a two year undergraduate course offered after completing graduation with a minimum of 50% aggregate marks. A B.Ed degree is essential for teaching at the secondary or senior secondary level. 
• M.Ed: A Master of Education (M.Ed) is a PG course offered for a duration of two years. You can take up this course to increase your chances of getting good opportunities as a teacher. 
• MA: The Master of Arts (MA) course or MA in Education can also be pursued in any subject to comprehensively cover a subject. The course is offered for a duration of two years.

Also Read:List of Teaching Entrance Exams for Government Jobs in India

List of Colleges Offering Courses to Become a Teacher

There are various colleges and universities that offer courses to become a teacher. You must select a college, depending upon several factors such as the location, fees, placement assistance, infrastructure, faculty, curriculum etc. Some of the popular government and private colleges and their average fees for B.Ed and teacher training courses are as follows.

Job Roles as a Teacher

There are various job roles as a teacher that you can choose as per your interest. Some of the designations are as follows.

• Pre-Primary Teacher: These teachers teach students who are in the age range of three to seven years. You can complete your 10+2 or complete a diploma degree with a minimum of 50% marks from a recognised institution in any stream to be a pre-primary teacher.
• Primary Teacher: These teachers are responsible for teaching the students in the grade range from class I to V. These are also called elementary teachers. To become a primary teacher, you can complete a B.Ed or D.El.Ed degree with a minimum of 50% marks from a recognised university in any stream.
• Senior Teacher: These teachers are responsible for teaching classes VI to VII. To be a senior teacher, candidates need to have a beard degree in any stream with the minimum of 50% marks from a recognised university.
• Senior Secondary Teacher: These teachers teach class IX to XII and require completing B.Ed degree with a minimum of 50% aggregate mark from a recognised university in any stream. Some institutions also require senior secondary teachers to complete their masters in a particular stream from a recognised university with 55% of minimum marks.
• Educator/ Tutor: Educators and tutors teach through offline or online settings like Youtube channels and coaching institutions. You can complete your graduation or even post graduation to be an educator or a tutor. 

Pay Scale of a Teacher

The salary of a teacher depends upon several factors such as their academic qualifications, years of experience, acquired skill set, employer, designation, etc. The average salary of various teacher designations are tabulated below.

Also Read:Career Options after B.Ed

That’s all you need to know about how to become a teacher. Stay tuned to CollegeDekho for more such articles.