EMRS PGT Syllabus 2025-26: Tier 1 and Subject-wise Tier 2 Topics

The EMRS PGT syllabus is published by the National Education Society for Tribal Students (NESTS) for the EMRS Staff Selection Exam (ESSE). It has two parts: a common Tier 1 syllabus covering general awareness, reasoning, ICT, teaching aptitude, domain knowledge and language, and a subject syllabus for Tier 2 in each of the 11 PGT subjects.

This page sets out the ESSE 2025 PGT syllabus in checklist form, shows which topics carry the most weight, and gives a phased plan to cover it. The subject lists follow the official PGT syllabus document; topic summaries have been condensed, so keep the official PDF beside you for the full detail.

Table of Contents

EMRS PGT Syllabus at a Glance

Tier 1 runs for 2 hours 30 minutes and Tier 2 for 3 hours, with no separate time limit for each section. For marking rules and qualifying marks, see the EMRS PGT exam pattern.

Key Points to Know Before You Start

• One Tier 1 syllabus for all PGT subjects: Every PGT candidate takes the same Tier 1 paper, whatever the subject.

• Tier 2 is subject-specific: You are tested only in the subject you applied for, with 40 objective and 15 descriptive questions.

• NEP 2020 is a named topic: It carries 10 marks within Domain Knowledge, so treat it as a full chapter, not a side note.

• Language is qualifying, not optional: You need 8 out of 20 in English and Hindi combined, or the rest of Tier 1 is not evaluated.

• Older syllabus pages: Some pages still describe the ESSE 2023 papers or show Tier 1 as a 120 or 130-mark test. Follow the ESSE 2025 bulletin and the PGT syllabus PDF.

Official syllabus page (ESSE 2025): https://nests.tribal.gov.in/show_content.php?lang=1&level=1&ls_id=950&lid=549

Tier 1 Syllabus

Teaching Aptitude and Domain Knowledge together carry 60 of the 100 scored marks. Expect classroom situations rather than definitions: a question may describe a student or a lesson and ask which approach fits NEP 2020 or activity-based learning best. Reasoning and ICT are smaller but quick to score with practice.

Tier 2 Subject Syllabus

The Tier 2 syllabus for most subjects tracks the senior secondary curriculum, and English and Hindi add literature and history of literature. The lists below condense the official PGT syllabus document.

Mathematics

• Algebra and functions: Sets, relations and functions, complex numbers and quadratic equations, linear inequalities, permutations and combinations, binomial theorem, sequences and series, matrices and determinants.

• Trigonometry and geometry: Trigonometric and inverse trigonometric functions, straight lines, conic sections, introductory and advanced three-dimensional geometry, vectors.

• Calculus: Limits and derivatives, continuity and differentiability, applications of derivatives, integrals and their applications, differential equations.

• Statistics and optimisation: Statistics, probability including conditional probability and Bayes' theorem, random variables, linear programming.

The official PDF prints the earlier Mathematics units (Sets to Straight Lines) before its Tier II heading. Prepare the whole list for Tier 2, because the subject paper can draw on any of it.

Physics

• Mechanics: Units and measurement, motion in a line and a plane, laws of motion, work, energy and power, rotational motion, gravitation, properties of solids and fluids.

• Heat and waves: Thermal properties, thermodynamics, kinetic theory, oscillations and waves.

• Electricity and magnetism: Electrostatics, current electricity, magnetism, electromagnetic induction, alternating current, electromagnetic waves.

• Optics and modern physics: Ray and wave optics, dual nature, atoms and nuclei, semiconductor electronics.

Chemistry

• Physical chemistry: Mole concept, atomic structure, thermodynamics, equilibrium, redox, solutions, electrochemistry, chemical kinetics.

• Inorganic chemistry: Periodic classification, chemical bonding, d- and f-block elements, coordination compounds.

• Organic chemistry: Basic principles, hydrocarbons, haloalkanes and haloarenes, alcohols, phenols and ethers, aldehydes, ketones and carboxylic acids, amines, biomolecules.

Biology

• Diversity and structure: Living world, plant and animal kingdoms, morphology and anatomy of flowering plants, structural organisation in animals, cell biology and cell division.

• Physiology: Plant physiology (photosynthesis, respiration, growth) and human physiology (respiration, circulation, excretion, locomotion, neural and endocrine control).

• Genetics and evolution: Reproduction, Mendelian inheritance, molecular basis of inheritance, evolution.

• Applied biology: Human health and disease, biotechnology and its applications, ecology, biodiversity and conservation.

History

• World history: Early urban societies, the Roman Empire, the Mongols, feudal Europe, the Renaissance, displacement of indigenous peoples, modernisation in East Asia.

• Indian history: Harappan civilisation, early states from the Mauryas to the Guptas, Mahabharata and social history, Buddhism and Sanchi, Bhakti-Sufi traditions, travellers' accounts, Vijayanagara, Mughal agrarian society, colonialism and the countryside, 1857, Gandhian nationalism, framing of the Constitution.

Geography

• Physical geography: Earth's origin and interior, plate tectonics, landforms, climate, atmosphere, oceans, biosphere.

• India: Physiography, drainage, monsoon, vegetation, soils, natural hazards and disasters.

• Human and practical geography: Population, economic activities, settlements, transport and trade, resources and development, contemporary issues, maps, scales, projections, topographic sheets and remote sensing.

Economics

• Statistics: Collection and presentation of data, central tendency, correlation, index numbers.

• Microeconomics: Consumer equilibrium, demand and elasticity, production and costs, market forms, price controls.

• Macroeconomics: National income, money and banking, income determination, government budget, balance of payments, exchange rates.

• Indian economy: Development from 1947 to 1990, reforms since 1991, human capital, rural development, employment, sustainable development, comparison with neighbours.

Commerce

• Accountancy: Accounting principles and GST, books of original entry, ledger, bank reconciliation, depreciation and reserves, trial balance and rectification, financial statements, partnership accounts, share capital and debentures, ratio analysis, cash flow statement.

• Business Studies: Forms of business organisation, business services, social responsibility, sources of finance, MSMEs and entrepreneurship, trade, principles and functions of management, financial management and markets, marketing, consumer protection.

Computer Science

• Systems: Computer organisation, Boolean logic, number systems, encoding schemes.

• Programming: Computational thinking, Python fundamentals, data structures in Python, functions, file handling (text, binary, CSV).

• Data: Database concepts, SQL, Python and SQL connectivity, Pandas and data visualisation.

• Networks and society: Network types, devices, topologies and protocols, web basics, cyber ethics and law, emerging trends such as AI, IoT, cloud and blockchain.

English

• Reading and writing: Unseen, case-based and data-based passages, note-making, summarising, notices, letters, articles, reports, speeches and debates.

• Grammar: Gap filling, tenses, clauses, sentence transformation.

• Literature: Shakespeare, the Romantic poets, nineteenth and twentieth-century British and American writing, Indian writing in English, world literature in English.

Hindi

• Khand A, sahitya ka itihas: Hindi literature from Adikal to Adhunik kal, major poets and writers, prose forms, prescribed poetry and prose.

• Khand B, vyakaran: Shabd rachna, sandhi, apathit gadyansh, ras, shabd-shakti, guna, dosh, chhand and alankar.

• Khand C, lekhan aur patrakarita: Print and broadcast journalism, reports, features, interviews, official Hindi, creative and dialogue writing.

Where to Focus in Each Subject

NESTS does not publish topic-wise weightage for Tier 2. The priorities below are planning guidance built from the official syllabus and the shape of the paper (40 one-mark objective questions and 15 descriptive questions worth 60 marks), not an official list.

Whatever your subject, avoid leaving any unit untouched. With only 55 questions in the paper, NESTS can set questions from any unit, and one missed descriptive question costs four marks on average.

Overlap Between Tier 1 and Tier 2

Is There an Interview Syllabus?

No. In ESSE 2025 there is no interview for PGT posts. After Tier 2, shortlisted candidates go to document verification, and the merit list is based on Tier 2 marks only. The interview applies to the Principal post alone, so you do not need a separate interview syllabus.

How to Cover the EMRS PGT Syllabus

1. Weeks 1 to 6, foundations: Finish the Tier 2 subject syllabus at the senior secondary level and read NEP 2020 once in full. Spend 30 to 40 minutes a day on current affairs and keep monthly notes.

2. Weeks 4 to 10, Tier 1 sections: Add teaching aptitude, pedagogy case studies, reasoning and ICT. Start 20-minute topic tests twice a week.

3. Weeks 8 to 14, depth and writing: Move to the deeper subject units, such as literature for English and Hindi or advanced calculus for Mathematics. Write two or three descriptive answers a week within a fixed time.

4. Final phase, full-length practice: Take full Tier 1 and Tier 2 papers under timed conditions, analyse them the same day, and revise from an error log.

For this kind of timed practice, you can attempt teaching exam online tests on Testkart and use the topic-wise analysis to find weak areas. Concise Testkart study notes are also useful for last-week revision of the subject syllabus.