SET Kerala 2026: Kerala State Eligibility Test (SET) January-2026

State Eligibility Test Kerala

Kerala State Eligibility Test (SET) January-2026

Kerala SET January-2026
[Kerala State Eligibility Test January-2026]
Government of Kerala
Department of General Education
conducted by LBS Centre for Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram
Exam to become Higher Secondary School Teachers and Non-Vocational Teachers in the state of Kerala

In order to ensure the standards of teaching in Higher Secondary Course, the Kerala State Government have decided to conduct the State Eligibility Test for the candidates to be selected as Higher Secondary School Teachers and Non-Vocational Teachers in VHSE. A pass in the State Eligibility Test (SET) is stipulated as a mandatory requirement for appointment as Higher Secondary School Teachers in the State as per the Special Rules in force.
The conduct of the SET examination is on the basis of the syllabus approved by the Board of Examinations. In 2002 the Government of Kerala entrusted the conduct of State Eligibility Test with the LBS Centre for Science and Technology. State Eligibility Test is a prerequisite for recruitment of teachers in Higher Secondary Schools in Kerala.
The test is conducted for 36 different subjects twice a year all over Kerala.
There shall be two papers for the SET examination. The duration of the Test shall be 120 minutes for each paper. Paper I is common for all candidates. It consists of two parts, Part (A) General Knowledge and Part (B) Aptitude in Teaching. Paper I has 60 questions each for Part A and Part B. Each question carries one mark.
Paper II shall be a test based on the subject of specialization of the candidate at the Post Graduate (PG) level. 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 80 questions carrying 1.5 marks each.

Subjects for SET Examination

Code	Name	Code	Name	Code	Name	Code	Name
1	Anthropology	11	Geology	21	Mathematics	31	Statistics
2	Arabic	12	German	22	Music	32	Syriac
3	Botany	13	Hindi	23	Philosophy	33	Tamil
4	Chemistry	14	History	24	Physics	34	Urdu
5	Commerce	15	Home Science	25	Political Science	35	Zoology
6	Economics	16	Islamic History	26	Psychology	36	Bio-Technology
7	English	17	Journalism	27	Russian
8	French	18	Kannada	28	Sanskrit
9	Gandhian Studies	19	Latin	29	Social Work
10	Geography	20	Malayalam	30	Sociology

Conditions of Eligibility

The candidates who have acquired Master's Degree in the Subjects concerned with not less than 50% marks or equivalent grade and B.Ed Degree in any discipline from any one of the Universities in Kerala or have acquired these qualifications from any other University recognized as equivalent thereto are eligible to apply for the SET examination.
For Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Botany and Zoology those having MSc.Ed Degree in the subjects concerned with not less than 50% marks or equivalent grade from any one of the Regional Institutes of Education sponsored by the NCERT are eligible to apply. For Botany and Zoology, those having MSc.Ed Degree in Life Science (with not less than 50% marks or grade) from any one of the Regional Institutes of Education are also eligible.
For the subjects Anthropology, Commerce, Gandhian Studies, Geology, Home Science, Journalism, Music, Philosophy, Psychology, Social Work, Sociology and Statistics candidates need not acquire B.Ed. Degree for applying for the State Eligibility Test.
Those who have acquired II class Master's Degree in Communicative English with not less than 50% marks and B.Ed are eligible to apply for SET in English.
Candidates who have acquired DLEd/LTTC in Arabic, Urdu and Hindi but do not have B.Ed Degree are eligible to apply for SET.
Candidates who have acquired B.Ed Degree in Hindi conducted by the Dakshin Bharatha Hindi Prachar Sabha are exempted from the requirement of producing the equivalency certificate, as the degree has been recognized by the Universities in Kerala.
Candidates 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 apply for the SET. Candidates who have acquired their qualifications through recognized correspondence courses / Open Universities should furnish certificates of recognition and equivalency from any one of the Universities in Kerala.
Candidates possessing qualification in the subjects other than those mentioned in the details of Subject List should furnish an Equivalency / Eligibility certificate obtained from any one of the Universities in Kerala.
Candidates who have acquired their Master's Degree with the minimum required marks for eligibility to apply for SET and are undergoing the final year courses for B.Ed Degree are eligible to apply for the test. Similarly candidates who have acquired their B.Ed Degree and are undergoing the final year courses of their Post Graduate Programme are also eligible to apply for the test. Such candidates must produce the Certificates of their qualifying examinations passed with the minimum required marks within one year from the date of publication of the results of the test, failing which they shall be treated as disqualified.
No age limit is prescribed for candidates applying for the SET.

Requirement for Pass SET Examination

Minimum Percentage of Marks
Category	Paper I	Paper II	Total
General	40	40	48
OBC (Non Creamy Layer)	35	35	45
PWD/VH/PH/SC/ST	35	35	40

The pass percentage shall be calculated as follows:
[(Marks secured for Paper I + Paper II)÷ (Maximum marks for Paper I + Paper II)] x 100

In computing marks, fraction shall be rounded off only to the first two decimal places in the calculation of aggregate percentage of marks. No rounding off of marks shall be made for calculating the pass percentage for Paper I and Paper II separately.

Scheme of the Test

There shall be two papers for the SET JANUARY-2026.
Paper I
Paper I is common for all candidates. It consists of two parts, Part (A) General Knowledge and Part (B) Aptitude in Teaching.

Paper II
Paper II shall be a test based on the subject of specialisation of the candidate at the Post Graduate (PG) Level.

Mode of Registration

Candidates intending to register for the State Eligibility Test are required to submit the application form and fee through online mode. The candidates may pay the examination fee electronically either by credit/debit card/Net Banking or other modes provided in the website. The fee shall be Rs. 1,300/- for General/OBC candidates and Rs. 750/- for SC/ST/Differenly abled candidates. Processing charges and GST are to be paid by the candidate as applicable.

Mode of Remitting fee
The mode of payment shall be only be paid through online mode. Cash/Money Order/Cheque/Demand Draft will not be accepted. The application fee will not be refunded under any circumstances.

Important Dates

Issue of GO	24/10/2025
Online Registration Starting	29/10/2025
Online Registration Closing	10/12/2025 (Midnight)
Online Payment of Registered Candidate	12/12/2025 (Midnight)
Editing (if any) in Submitted Application	From 11/12/2025 to 13/12/2025 (Midnight)
Online Admission Ticket available from	Will be intimated later
Date of Test	22/02/2026 (Tentative Date)