AWES OST eligibility depends on the level you want to teach. AWES is the Army Welfare Education Society, and the OST is its Online Screening Test for teachers in Army Public Schools. A Post Graduate Teacher (PGT) needs a master’s degree in the subject and a B.Ed. A Trained Graduate Teacher (TGT) needs a bachelor’s degree in the subject and a B.Ed. For a Primary Teacher (PRT) post, summaries of the AWES 2025 notice list a two-year D.El.Ed or a B.El.Ed, and no longer a B.Ed. The OST is the first of three stages. With its score you can apply to an Army Public School, which interviews you and then tests your teaching and your computer skills before it appoints anyone.
If you came here for the 2026 exam date, we cannot give you one. When we checked awesindia.com on 4 October 2026, its homepage linked a notice saying the OST for 2026 “is likely to be delayed”, and we found no 2026 application window or exam date on the site. In July 2026 AWES also published a Request for Proposal (RFP) to select an agency to conduct the OST, and issued two corrigenda to it in August. Some job sites say the 2026 test was already held in September 2026. We found nothing on awesindia.com that supports that. This guide is not tied to one cycle. The dates, fee and exam cities of the 2024 cycle are on our AWES teacher recruitment post.
Who runs the OST, and what “AWES vacancy” means
The AWES about page lists 140 Army Public Schools (APS) in cantonments and military stations. All are affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), and each is managed by its local Army formation through a School Administration and Management Committee. The same page puts their teaching staff at about 8,500.
The OST gives you a scorecard and fills no posts by itself. Each Army Public School then advertises its own vacancies and runs its own interviews, so “AWES vacancy” means the openings at individual schools in a given year. When a job site quotes a single all-India vacancy figure for the OST, treat it as an estimate. The 8,500 on the AWES site is the whole teaching staff, not the number of openings.
AWES OST eligibility by post
The table draws on three sources: a 2024 vacancy notice from APS Srinagar that AWES posts on awesindia.com, the AWES “Guidelines for selection of regular teachers in Army Public Schools” that APS Ambala publishes on its own website, and Adda247’s summary of the 2025 OST notice. We could not open the 2025 notice PDF itself, so read the current one on awesindia.com before you register.
| Post | Subject degree | Teacher training | CTET or TET |
|---|---|---|---|
| PGT | Master’s in the subject, at least 50% | B.Ed, at least 50% | Not named for PGT in the guidelines we could read |
| TGT | Bachelor’s in the subject, at least 50% | B.Ed, at least 50% | Needed at appointment, not to sit the OST |
| PRT | Graduation, at least 50% (Adda247’s 2025 summary) | Two-year D.El.Ed or B.El.Ed, at least 50% | Needed at appointment, not to sit the OST |
AWES PGT eligibility
The APS Srinagar notice asked PGTs for a postgraduate degree with a B.Ed in the relevant subject, with at least 50% marks in each. Adda247’s summary of the 2025 notice gives the same rule. The 50% applies to the degree and to the B.Ed separately, so a 62% M.A. does not make up for a 48% B.Ed.
A few PGT subjects take a different degree. In the notice behind our 2024 post, Computer Science accepted a BE, B.Tech or MCA. Our 2024 recruitment post lists the subject-wise degrees for every PGT and TGT subject from that notice.
AWES TGT eligibility
The APS Srinagar notice worded it as “Graduation/Post Graduate with B.Ed in the relevant subject”, with at least 50% in each. A postgraduate can therefore apply as a TGT. The subject you studied has to match the subject you will teach.
CTET is the Central Teacher Eligibility Test, run by CBSE (ctet.nic.in). The AWES guidelines on APS Ambala’s site say CTET or a state TET is not needed to sit the OST, but it is mandatory at appointment as a TGT or PRT in the regular and fixed-term categories. You can take the OST while you are still preparing for CTET. You cannot join a school until you have passed it.
AWES PRT eligibility, and why the B.Ed dropped out
This is where sources from different years disagree. The notice behind our 2024 post accepted a graduate with a B.Ed, a two-year diploma or a four-year integrated course. Summaries of the 2025 notice, Adda247’s among them, give graduation with 50% plus a two-year D.El.Ed or a B.El.Ed with 50%. They list no B.Ed route for new candidates.
The change follows the Supreme Court’s judgment of 11 August 2023 in Devesh Sharma v Union of India, which held that a B.Ed is not a qualification for teaching classes 1 to 5. The 2025 summaries carry one exception. B.Ed teachers who were already working in Army Public Schools before 11 August 2023 can continue, on condition that they complete a bridge course once the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) launches one. On 4 October 2026 the AWES homepage linked NCTE’s notice on a Supreme Court judgment that requires a six-month bridge course for B.Ed teachers, so read it there if you are in that group. If you hold only a B.Ed and are not in that group, the TGT route is open to you as long as your bachelor’s subject matches a TGT subject.
AWES age limit for fresh and experienced candidates
AWES sets two upper limits. In the APS Srinagar notice, a fresh candidate (less than five years of teaching experience) had to be below 40 years as on 1 April 2024. An experienced candidate, with at least five years of teaching in the last ten, had to be below 57, and that limit included ex-servicemen. Adda247 and Testbook give the same 40 and 57 for the 2025 cycle.
Some individual school advertisements, as job sites have summarised them, give 55 rather than 57 for experienced candidates. We could not confirm which schools set 55. Each school’s own notice decides, so read its age line before you apply. The date the age is counted on also moves with the notice. Our government jobs age limit guide explains how cut-off dates and relaxations work across recruiters.
The selection process after the OST
The OST is an online multiple-choice test. The syllabus and paper pattern are published with each cycle’s notice on awesindia.com. Prepare from the current notice, since a coaching site’s pattern may describe an older paper.
From the 2023 test onward, the OST scorecard is valid for life, according to Adda247’s summaries of the AWES notices. Older scorecards were valid for three years. They become valid for life if the holder taught at the level the card covers (PGT, TGT or PRT) in a CBSE school within those three years, for at least nine unbroken months of one academic session.
With a scorecard in hand, you apply to an Army Public School when it advertises. The AWES selection guidelines published by APS Ambala and APS Jalandhar call shortlisted candidates for an interview, a teaching skills test and a computer proficiency test. The final merit list combines the OST score with those three. CTET or TET is checked at this point for TGT and PRT appointments.
One school notice shows how much the rules can vary. The 2024 APS Srinagar notice on awesindia.com let candidates without an OST score sit its interview, on condition that anyone selected passed the OST within one or two years. Other schools may not allow that. The notice of the school you apply to is the one that binds you.
Other teaching and degree-level openings are collected on our jobs by education page.
Quick answers on AWES eligibility
Can a B.Ed holder apply for AWES PRT?
Not as a new candidate, going by summaries of the 2025 notice. PRT now needs a two-year D.El.Ed or a B.El.Ed. B.Ed teachers already working in Army Public Schools before 11 August 2023 can continue, subject to an NCTE bridge course. A B.Ed holder can apply as a TGT if their bachelor’s subject matches a TGT subject.
Do I need CTET to sit the AWES OST?
No. The AWES guidelines make CTET or a state TET mandatory at appointment as a TGT or PRT, not for the screening test.
What percentage do I need for AWES TGT eligibility?
At least 50% in your graduation and at least 50% in your B.Ed, counted separately.
Is the AWES OST score valid for life?
Scorecards from the 2023 test onward are valid for life. Older three-year cards become valid for life only if the holder taught at that level in a CBSE school for nine unbroken months of an academic session within three years.
When is the AWES OST 2026?
On 4 October 2026 awesindia.com said the 2026 OST is likely to be delayed and showed no date. Any date you see elsewhere should match a notice on awesindia.com before you rely on it.
