Applications open for Kerala State Eligibility Test January 2026: Apply online now

LBS Centre for Science and Technology; Palayam, Nandavanam, has invited applications for the State Eligibility Test (SET), January 2026.

SET is an eligibility test for selection as higher secondary school teachers and non-vocational teachers in vocational higher secondary schools.

SET will be conducted in the following subjects: Arabic, Botany, Chemistry, Commerce, Economics, English, French, Geography, Geology, German, Hindi, History, Home Science, Journalism, Latin, Malayalam, Mathematics, Music, Philosophy, Physics, Political Science, Psychology, Russian, Sanskrit, Social Work, Sociology, Statistics, Syriac, Urdu, Zoology, Biotechnology (Total 31)

Eligibility: Applicant should have a master's degree in the subject concerned with not less than 50% marks (45% for SC/ST/differently abled categories)/equivalent grade and B.Ed. degree in any discipline from any one of the universities in Kerala or should have acquired these qualifications from any other university recognised as equivalent thereto with certain exceptions as mentioned in the Prospectus at https://lbsedp.lbscentre.in/setjan26/.

For Commerce, French, German, Geology, Home Science, Journalism, Latin, Music, Philosophy, Psychology, Russian, Social Work, Sociology, Statistics and Syriac, applicants do not need B.Ed. Degree for applying.

The following categories with 50% marks/equivalent Grade for PG are also eligible to apply for SET (i) For Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology, those having MSc.Ed Degree in the subjects concerned from any one of the Regional Institutes of Education sponsored by the NCERT (ii) For Botany and Zoology, those having MSc.Ed Degree in Life Science from any one of the Regional Institutes of Education (iii) Those having Master’s Degree in Communicative English and BEd. are eligible to appear for English (iv) Those having DLEd/LTTC in Arabic, Urdu or Hindi but do not have B.Ed Degree (v) Those with Master’s degree in Biotechnology and B.Ed degree in Natural science are eligible to apply for Biotechnology.

Those who have acquired their qualification through Correspondence Courses/Open Universities which are not recognized by any one of the Universities in Kerala are not eligible to appear for the SET.

Candidates possessing qualification in subjects other than those mentioned under subjects of SET (Clause 2.2 of Prospectus), should furnish equivalency and eligibility certificate from any one of the universities in Kerala.

Those with Master’s Degree with the minimum required marks for eligibility and are undergoing final year course for B.Ed Degree and those with B.Ed. Degree, undergoing final year of their Post Graduate Programme are eligible to apply. Such candidates must submit a declaration to this effect, countersigned by the Principal of the institution. Final Year PG/B.Ed candidates should pass their qualifying examination with minimum required marks within one year from the date of publication of the results of SET failing which they shall be treated as disqualified.

Age Limit: There is no age limit prescribed for appearing for the SET.

Examination: There shall be two papers for SET January 2026. Paper I is common for all candidates. It will have two parts, Part (A) General Knowledge and Part (B) Aptitude in Teaching. Paper II shall be a test based on the subject of specialisation of the candidate at the Post Graduate (PG) Level. Duration of the Test will be 120 minutes for each paper. For Paper I, there shall be 120 questions with 60 questions each for Part A and Part B. Each question shall carry one mark. There shall be 120 questions carrying one mark each for the subjects under Paper II except for Mathematics and Statistics. For Mathematics and Statistics there shall be only 80 questions carrying 1.5 marks each. The questions of both the papers will be objective in nature and based on single response. The syllabus prescribed for the Test will be based on the core areas in the syllabi in the subjects concerned followed by the Universities in Kerala. The approved syllabus of the subjects for SET - January- 2026 and sample question papers are available at https://lbsedp.lbscentre.in/setjan26/.

There will be Test Centres at all the District Head Quarters in the State. A candidate can select a District Head Quarter as Test Centre. The Venue will be allotted by the Director, LBS Centre for Science & Technology, Thiruvananthapuram which will be intimated to the candidates in due course when Admit Cards are released online

To qualify in SET applicant should get 40% marks each in Paper I and Paper II and 48% marks in aggregate. For OBC NCL, it would be 35%,35% and 45% respectively and for SC/ST/Differently Abled, it would be 35%, 35% and 40% respectively.

Application: Registration can be done online at https://lbsedp.lbscentre.in/setjan26/ latest by midnight on 28.11.2025. The different Steps in the process of applying include (i) Mobile Number Registration (ii) Filling online application form (iii) Uploading Photo (iv) Online Payment of Fee and (v) Printing of Application. Applicants will be able to take the printout of the filled application after performing the first four steps. Application fee is Rs.1300/- (Rs.750/- for SC/ST/PwD). The amount can be paid online latest by midnight on 30.11.2025. Editing (if any) in Submitted Application can be done from 29.11.2025 to midnight on 1.12.2025. Online Admission Ticket will be available from a date to be notified later. Date of Test will also be intimated later.