AP DSC Syllabus 2026 - Check Exam Pattern & Subject-Wise Topics, Marks

The Department of School Education, Government of Andhra Pradesh conducts the AP DSC Teacher Recruitment Test (TRT) 2026 for School Assistant, Secondary Grade Teacher (SGT), TGT, PGT, Principal and Physical Education posts. The syllabus tells you what to study, and the exam pattern tells you how many marks each part carries, so the two should be read together before you plan your preparation. This article covers post-wise marks distribution, the selection process, topic-wise syllabus from the official SCERT syllabus document and a practical preparation plan.

AP DSC Syllabus and Exam Pattern 2026 - Overview

AP DSC Selection Process 2026

The selection moves through the stages below. For posts where AP TET carries weightage, the final merit is based on the total of the written test marks and the AP TET score.

1. Online written test (TRT): an objective-type test of 80 or 100 marks depending on the post.
2. AP TET weightage: for School Assistant (Languages and Non-Language) and SGT, the written test carries 80 marks and the AP TET score is converted to 20 marks (20% weightage).
3. Personal Interview (PI) / Document Verification: candidates are called for verification as per the selection process of the notification.
4. Final Merit List: prepared from the total marks as per the weightage given below.

AP DSC Exam Pattern 2026

AP DSC is a single online objective test, and the pattern differs by post. Every pattern has the same building blocks: General Knowledge and Current Affairs, Perspectives in Education, Educational Psychology, subject Content and Methodology. Only the marks given to each block change. There is no negative marking in the exam.

AP DSC Marks Distribution for SGT, School Assistant, TGT, PGT and Principal

AP DSC Exam Pattern for SGT Special Education and Physical Education Posts

Qualifying marks and category-wise minimum percentage are not specified in the official syllabus.

AP DSC Syllabus 2026

The official AP DSC 2026 syllabus is issued by the State Council of Educational Research and Training (SCERT), Andhra Pradesh. The first three parts below are common across posts, with marks differing as shown in the table above. Content and methodology then depend on your post and subject.

1. General Knowledge and Current Affairs

Carries 8 marks for SGT, 10 for School Assistant, TGT and PGT, 15 for Principal and 5 for PET. The official syllabus does not list sub-topics for this section.

2. Perspectives in Education

Carries 4 marks for SGT, 5 for School Assistant and TGT, and 10 for PGT. The topics are:

(A) History of Education

• Education in ancient India (Pre-Vedic and Post-Vedic periods) and medieval education
• Pre-Independence era: Woods Despatch (1854), Hunter Commission (1882), Hartog Committee (1929), Sargent Committee (1944)
• Post-Independence era: Mudaliar Commission (1952-53), Kothari Commission (1964-66), Ishwarbhai Patel Committee (1977), NPE 1986, POA 1992

(B) Teacher Empowerment

• Need and interventions for empowerment, professional code of conduct, teacher motivation
• Professional development of teachers, teacher organizations, national and state-level organizations for teacher education
• Maintenance of records and registers in schools

(C) Educational Concerns in Contemporary India

• Democracy and education; equality, equity and quality in education; equality of educational opportunities
• Economics of education, education as human capital, human resource development, literacy (Saakshar Bharat Mission)
• Population education, gender equality and empowerment of women, urbanization and migration, life skills
• Adolescence education, value education (moral values and professional ethics), health and physical education
• Inclusive education and classroom management in inclusive education
• Role of education in view of liberalization, privatization and globalization
• Programmes and projects: APPEP, DPEP, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, NPEGEL, RMSA, Rashtriya Avishkar Abhiyan, KGBVs, Model Schools
• Incentives and special provisions: Mid-Day Meals, free books, scholarships, awards, welfare hostels, transportation
• Current trends in education

(D) Acts and Rights

• Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009
• Right to Information Act, 2005
• Child rights and human rights

(E) Curriculum and Policy

• National Curriculum Framework 2005: perspectives, guiding principles, learning and knowledge, teaching-learning process, assessments, systemic reforms
• National Education Policy 2020

3. Educational Psychology

Carries 8 marks for SGT, 5 for School Assistant and TGT, 10 for PGT and 20 for Principal. For School Assistant, the section is titled Classroom Implications of Educational Psychology and covers the last three topics below.

• Development of Child (SGT): concept and nature of development, growth and maturation; principles of development; biological, psychological, sociological and emotional factors; physical, cognitive, emotional, social, moral and language development across infancy to adolescence; theories of Piaget, Kohlberg, Chomsky, Carl Rogers and Erikson
• Individual Differences: inter and intra individual differences, theories of intelligence with emphasis on multiple intelligence, IQ and its assessment, EQ, creativity, attitude, aptitude, interest and habit, with classroom implementation
• Learning: theories and approaches, learning curves, factors, phases, dimensions and types of learning, transfer of learning, memory and forgetting, learning and assessment, children with special needs and inclusive education
• Personality: nature, characteristics, theories and factors of personality, assessment, mental health, adjustment, stress and its management, emotional intelligence, management of emotions

4. SGT – Content and Methodology

Content for SGT is drawn from Class III to Class VIII, with difficulty level up to Class X. Five subjects are tested, each with 8 marks for content and 4 marks for methodology (60 marks in all).

(A) Language I (Telugu, Urdu, Kannada, Odia or Tamil as optional)

• Content: 8 marks
• Methodology: 4 marks, covering language teaching at the primary level

(B) Language II: English

• Content: poets, essayists, novelists, dramatists and their works; writing of discourses (story, essay, letter, editorial, precis writing, note-making, autobiography and biography); pronunciation and use of dictionary; parts of speech; tenses; types of sentences; articles and prepositions
• Methodology: aspects of English, objectives of teaching English, LSRW and communicative skills, approaches, methods and techniques, teaching of structures and vocabulary, teaching-learning materials, lesson planning, curriculum and textbooks, evaluation

(C) Mathematics

• Content: Numbers, Arithmetic, Geometry, Data Handling, Algebra and Mensuration
• Methodology: nature and definitions of mathematics, aims and values, methods and remedial measures, instructional material and TLM, curriculum, textbooks and instructional planning, evaluation and continuous comprehensive evaluation

(D) Science

• Content: Living World; Life Processes; Natural Phenomena (objects and materials, motion, light, electricity, magnetism, heat, force and pressure, combustion and fuels, fibres, sound, natural phenomena, our universe); Transportation and Communication; Professions and Services; Our Environment
• Methodology: nature, scope and history of science, aims and academic standards, methods and techniques, teaching-learning material, curriculum and textbook, assessment and evaluation, science laboratories, year and lesson planning, role of the science teacher, science fairs, clubs, field trips and museums

(E) Social Studies

• Content: six themes – Our Universe; Production, Exchange and Livelihoods; Political Systems and Governance; Social Organization and Inequities; Religion and Society; Culture and Communication
• Methodology: nature and scope of social studies, aims and academic standards, methods and techniques, teaching-learning material, curriculum and textbook, assessment and evaluation, planning, role of the teacher, fairs, clubs, field trips and museums

5. SGT Special Education

• Perspectives in Special Education and Inclusive Education (4 marks), as per the Rehabilitation Council of India D.Ed. Spl.Ed curriculum: nature of education, philosophical foundations, agencies of education, educational provisions in India, education of children with hearing and speech disabilities or low vision, school administration
• Psychology with reference to CWSN (8 marks): growth and development, ages and stages of development, psychology and learning, psychological processes and their implications for children with different disabilities, classroom management
• Category of Disability Specialization (20 marks): candidates answer either Hearing Impairment (HI) or Visual Impairment (VI). Both cover identification and assessment, communication or sensory training, curriculum and teaching strategies, inclusive education, and the role of family and community
• Content and Methodologies (40 marks, 25 + 15): Language I, English, Mathematics, Science and Social Studies at Class III to VIII level, with 5 marks for content and 3 marks for methodology in each subject

6. School Assistant – English

Content carries 40 marks and methodology 20 marks, at Class VI to Intermediate level.

(A) Literature

• Background of English literature: poetical types, stanza forms, schools and movements, dramatic types, the essay, the novel, the short story
• Literary terms, figures of speech (simile, metaphor, apostrophe, personification, metonymy, synecdoche, irony, alliteration) and rhyme scheme
• Poetry: Where the Mind Is without Fear (Tagore), The Cloud (Shelley), The Nation's Strength (Emerson), Palanquin Bearers (Sarojini Naidu), The Road Not Taken (Frost), A Slumber Did My Spirit Seal (Wordsworth), Telephone Conversation (Soyinka), The Night of the Scorpion (Ezekiel)
• Prose: Of Studies (Bacon), Self-Reliance (Emerson), On Shaking Hands (A.G. Gardiner), What Makes a Nation (C. Rajagopalachari)
• Novels: Animal Farm (Orwell), Swami and Friends (R.K. Narayan)
• Drama: Twelfth Night (Shakespeare), The Importance of Being Earnest (Wilde)
• Short stories: The Bet (Chekhov), Engine Trouble (R.K. Narayan), After Twenty Years (O. Henry), The Thief (Ruskin Bond)

(B) Vocabulary

• Synonyms, antonyms, homophones, homonyms, hypernyms and hyponyms, spelling, one-word substitutes
• Phrasal verbs, idiomatic expressions, proverbs, word formation, short forms and abbreviations, collocations, foreign phrases used in English

(C) Grammar

• Helping verbs, modal auxiliaries, ordinary verbs, articles, prepositions, clauses, sentence structures
• Degrees of comparison, language functions, question tags, types of sentences, sentence improvement
• Direct and indirect speech, active and passive voice, tenses (including if-conditionals Type 1, 2 and 3), subject-verb agreement, word order
• Parts of speech, linkers, transformation of sentences, common errors

(D) Writing, Dictionary Skills, Pronunciation and Reading Comprehension

• Punctuation and capitalization
• Writing of discourses: letter, news report, diary entry, conversation, description, biographical sketch, story, speech script
• Dictionary skills; phonetics, stress and intonation; general prose comprehension

(E) Methodology (20 marks)

• Aspects of language, objectives of teaching English, development of language skills
• Approaches, methods and techniques including remedial teaching
• Teaching of structures, vocabulary and grammar; teaching-learning materials; lesson planning
• Curriculum and textbooks; evaluation in English; pronunciation, phonetics and phonetic transcription

7. School Assistant – Mathematics

Content carries 40 marks and methodology 20 marks, at Class VI to Intermediate level. The content covers the following areas:

• Arithmetic: BODMAS, ratio and proportion, percentage, profit and loss, discount, taxes, simple and compound interest
• Number System: whole numbers to real numbers, factors and multiples, rational and irrational numbers, laws of exponents, logarithms, sets and Venn diagrams
• Geometry: lines, angles, triangles, congruence and similarity, Pythagoras theorem, quadrilaterals, circles, cyclic quadrilaterals, tangents, Euclid's geometry
• Mensuration: perimeter, area, surface area and volume of solids, combination of solids
• Algebra: linear and quadratic equations, polynomials, arithmetic and geometric progressions, functions, mathematical induction, matrices, complex numbers, De Moivre's theorem, theory of equations, permutations and combinations, binomial theorem, partial fractions
• Statistics and Probability: measures of central tendency and dispersion, probability, Bayes' theorem, random variables, binomial and Poisson distributions
• Coordinate Geometry: distance and section formulas, locus, straight lines, pair of lines, circle, parabola, ellipse, hyperbola, three-dimensional coordinates, plane
• Trigonometry: ratios and identities, applications, compound and multiple angles, trigonometric equations, inverse and hyperbolic functions, properties of triangles
• Vector Algebra and Calculus: vectors and their products, vector equations of line and plane, limits and continuity and further calculus topics as given in the official PDF

8. TGT, PGT, Principal and Physical Education Posts

• TGT: content is at Class VI to Intermediate level, with methodology carrying 20 marks. The official PDF has separate syllabi for TGT English, Telugu, Hindi, Sanskrit, Mathematics, General Science, Physical Science, Biological Science and Social Studies, plus Paper I (English Language Proficiency)
• PGT: content carries 50 marks at degree level, as per the present three-year Bachelor's degree course in Andhra Pradesh. The official PDF covers English, Telugu, Hindi, Sanskrit, Mathematics, Physical Science, Biological Science, Botany, Zoology, Social Studies, Civics, Economics and Commerce, plus Paper I (English Language Proficiency)
• Principal: Paper I (English Language Proficiency) and Paper II, where Paper II has 15 marks for GK and Current Affairs, 15 for Perspectives in Education, 20 for Educational Psychology, 35 for Part IV and 15 for Understanding of Teaching Methodology
• PET and School Assistant (PE/PD): GK and Current Affairs, Perspectives in Education, Physical Education Pedagogy (20 marks) and Content (70 marks)

9. Where to Find Each Subject in the Official Syllabus PDF

The official SCERT document is one combined PDF. Use the page numbers below to jump to your post and subject.

How to Prepare for AP DSC Exam 2026

1. Start with the three common sections. GK and Current Affairs, Perspectives in Education and Educational Psychology appear in every post. For SGT, School Assistant and TGT they add up to 20 of 80 marks, and for PGT 30 of 100, so one round of preparation pays off across posts.
2. Give most of your time to Content and Methodology. Together they carry 60 of 80 marks for SGT, School Assistant and TGT, and 70 of 100 for PGT. Plan your timetable in that proportion.
3. Treat Methodology as a separate, scoring section. The same themes repeat across subjects: nature and aims of the subject, methods and approaches, teaching-learning material, curriculum and textbooks, evaluation and lesson planning. Make one set of notes per theme and add subject examples.
4. Match your reading level to your post. SGT content is Class III to VIII with difficulty up to Class X, School Assistant and TGT content is Class VI to Intermediate, and PGT content is degree level. Study the textbooks of the relevant classes, not a level above or below.
5. Read the prescribed texts if you are a School Assistant (English) candidate. The syllabus names specific poems, prose pieces, novels, plays and short stories, so each one is a direct topic.
6. Practise with mock tests and previous year papers. There is no negative marking, so attempt every question in a mock test and use the results to revisit weak topics each week.

AP DSC Syllabus 2026 - Important Links

• AP DSC Syllabus 2026 PDF
• AP DSC Official Website

Other Notifications

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is the AP DSC syllabus 2026?

The syllabus has four common building blocks: General Knowledge and Current Affairs, Perspectives in Education, Educational Psychology, and subject Content and Methodology. The content portion depends on the post and subject, and the full topic list is given in the official SCERT syllabus PDF.

What is the exam pattern for AP DSC 2026?

AP DSC is an online objective test. SGT, School Assistant and TGT Paper II are of 80 marks, while PGT, Principal, PET and School Assistant (PE) are of 100 marks. The section-wise marks for each post are given in the tables above.

How many marks is the AP DSC exam?

SGT, School Assistant and TGT Paper II carry 80 marks. PGT, Principal and the Physical Education posts carry 100 marks.

Is there negative marking in the AP DSC exam?

No. There is no negative marking in the AP DSC exam.

Does AP TET score count in AP DSC selection?

Yes, for School Assistant (Languages and Non-Language) and SGT posts. The written test carries 80 marks and the AP TET score carries 20 marks (20% weightage). For TGT and PGT, only the written test marks are listed, and for School Assistant (PE) and PET, a 100-mark written test is listed.