Alerts and Updates for AWES Army Public School CSB Screening Examination

Online screening test paper by post

Part A covers general awareness, mental ability, English comprehension and educational concepts and methodology; Part B is subject content. Negative marking of one quarter mark per wrong answer applies, and a minimum of 50 per cent in each part taken is reported as the qualifying standard. Sources differ on the exact mark totals, with the notification extract describing a 200-question, 200-mark, three-hour paper weighted roughly 5 per cent general knowledge, 10 per cent pedagogy and 85 per cent subject content, so these figures should be checked against the live notification before the next cycle.

Dates and windows

Two different clocks run here. The screening test is an annual, centrally organised event with a fixed registration and test window; school-level recruitment against the resulting score cards runs continuously and independently, on each school's own timetable. A candidate holding a valid score card is watching school advertisements, not the AWES calendar.

What this means for your preparation

Candidates routinely treat the screening test as a recruitment examination and are then baffled when clearing it produces no appointment letter. It is a qualifying filter that issues a score card, and the notification is explicit that every school announces its own vacancies through local newspapers, its own website and its notice board, with candidates applying to the school directly. The second thing most candidates underestimate is how much the lifetime validity of that score card changes the economics of attempting it.

A score card valid for life is worth one hard attempt

The notification states in terms that a qualified candidate receives a score card valid for life. That is rare in Indian teacher recruitment, where CTET certificates and state TET results have historically carried finite validity. The practical implication is that the marginal value of a single well-prepared attempt is far higher than in an annual test that must be repeated. It justifies deferring an attempt by a cycle to prepare properly rather than sitting underprepared, because there is no recurring cost of maintaining eligibility and no expiry date to race. It also means the card should be downloaded and archived promptly, since the portal removed 2025 cards on 31 March 2026 and duplicates then cost Rs 250.

Negative marking changes how the paper should be attempted

One quarter of a mark is deducted for each wrong answer, and a minimum of 50 per cent in each part taken is reported as the qualifying standard. That combination rules out blanket guessing. With a pass mark set as a percentage rather than a rank, the arithmetic favours attempting only those items where the field has been narrowed to two options and leaving the rest, because a wholly random attempt across a long tail of unknown questions has negative expected value against a fixed threshold. PGT and TGT candidates also have three hours for two parts, which is generous enough that speed is rarely the binding constraint and accuracy almost always is.

Subject content dominates the paper for TGT and PGT

For PGT and TGT the paper splits into Part A, covering general awareness, mental ability, English comprehension and educational concepts and methodology, and Part B on subject content, with the notification extract describing subject content as carrying the overwhelming share of the weighting. PRT candidates take Part A only, in a shorter sitting. The preparation consequence is straightforward: a TGT or PGT candidate who prepares pedagogy and general awareness thoroughly but leaves subject depth to general recall is preparing the smaller half. A PRT candidate faces the opposite position and should concentrate on the general and pedagogical material, because that is the whole paper.

Eligibility has an age structure that rewards experience

For all three posts the notification sets two age bands. Fresh candidates must be below 40. Candidates aged 40 to 55 are admitted where they hold the required cumulative teaching experience, given as five years for PGT and PRT and as five years within the last ten for TGT. Qualifications are a master's degree with 50 per cent aggregate plus a B.Ed with 50 per cent for PGT, a bachelor's degree with 50 per cent plus B.Ed for TGT, and a bachelor's degree with 50 per cent plus B.El.Ed or a two-year D.El.Ed for PRT. TGT and PRT candidates must clear CTET or a state TET before appointment, which is a separate requirement from the screening test and is not waived by it.

After the score card, the real contest is at school level

Selection at a school involves an interview, an evaluation of teaching skills and a computer proficiency assessment, applied to candidates who apply to that school's own advertisement. Those advertisements can accept score cards from several past years at once, with the required percentile varying by the year the card was issued, so an older card may be usable but judged against a different bar. With 137 schools across 35 clusters and no central vacancy list, the effective job-search task is monitoring the websites and notice boards of the schools in the clusters a candidate is willing to move to, indefinitely, rather than waiting for a national announcement.

Common questions

Is the AWES Army Public School score card valid for life?

Yes. The notification states that qualified candidates are given a score card which shall be valid for life, and the phrase appears in capitals in the document. This is what distinguishes the screening test from CTET and state TETs, which have carried finite validity. Note the separate practical deadline on the download: 2025 score cards were available from the portal until 31 March 2026, after which a duplicate copy cost Rs 250. Candidates should save a copy as soon as it is issued.

When is the AWES online screening test 2026 and has registration opened?

No 2026 cycle has been traced as of 22 September 2026. The last screening test found was held on 20 and 21 September 2025, with 22 and 23 September as reserve dates, after registration from 5 June to 16 August 2025 and results from 8 October 2025. Coverage of the examination updated as late as October 2025 contains no registration dates or exam schedule for a 2026 cycle. Treat a fresh cycle as unannounced and verify on the AWES site before planning.

Does clearing the AWES screening test get me a job in an Army Public School?

No. It produces a score card and nothing more. The notification states that every school announces the vacancies available in that school through means such as local newspapers, the school website and its notice board, and candidates apply to the school. Selection at that stage involves an interview, a teaching skills evaluation and a computer proficiency test. There are 137 Army Public Schools across 35 clusters, and no central vacancy list, so the search is school by school.

What is the exam pattern and is there negative marking?

There is negative marking of one quarter mark for each wrong answer. PGT and TGT candidates take Part A and Part B, reported at 90 marks each over three hours; PRT candidates take Part A only, reported at 90 marks over 90 minutes. Part A covers general awareness, mental ability, English comprehension and educational concepts; Part B is subject content, which the notification extract weights very heavily. A minimum of 50 per cent in each part taken is reported as the qualifying standard. Sources differ on exact totals, so confirm against the live notification.

What are the age limits and qualifications for PGT, TGT and PRT?

Fresh candidates must be below 40 for all three posts. Candidates aged 40 to 55 are admitted with the required experience, five years cumulative for PGT and PRT, and five years within the last ten for TGT. PGT requires a master's degree with 50 per cent aggregate plus a B.Ed with 50 per cent from an NCTE institution. TGT requires a bachelor's degree with 50 per cent plus B.Ed. PRT requires a bachelor's degree with 50 per cent plus B.El.Ed or a two-year D.El.Ed. TGT and PRT candidates must also clear CTET or a state TET before appointment.

How much does the screening test cost to apply for?

The fee for the 2025 cycle was Rs 385, paid during the registration window of 5 June to 16 August 2025. A separate and much smaller cost arises later: school-level advertisements set their own application fees, and one January 2026 advertisement for 104 posts required a Rs 250 non-refundable demand draft submitted with a hard-copy application. A duplicate screening test score card, after the download window closed on 31 March 2026, also cost Rs 250.