Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Higher Education Department has announced a key change in the admission process for the 4-year Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP).
Starting from the 2026-27 academic session, all admissions to this programme in the state will be conducted through the National Common Entrance Test (NCET) 2026. The NCET, organised by the National Testing Agency (NTA) on behalf of the National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE), serves as the standardised national-level entrance exam for the ITEP for admission in selected central and state universities, including IITs, NITs, RIEs and government colleges across the country.
According to the notice issued by the NTA on February 12, candidates can submit online applications for NCET-2026 till March 10. The examination is tentatively scheduled to be held on April 17 in Computer Based Test (CBT) mode.
In Odisha, the programme will be offered at five state public universities and eight government colleges with a total of 1,300 sanctioned seats. After NCET results are published, candidates must apply through the SAMS portal by entering their scores and selecting preferred institutions. Merit lists will be prepared based on NCET percentile scores.
This aligns with the recommendations of the National Education Policy (NEP) 2020, which promotes the 4-year integrated programme as a comprehensive pathway to prepare aspiring teachers by integrating general education (Arts/Science/Commerce) with specialised professional training in pedagogy, content knowledge, and practical teaching skills.
However, the existing SAMS process will continue to handle admissions for 2-year BEd, MEd, and BHEd courses in Odisha and eligible candidates will have to appear for the entrance examination conducted by the State Selection Board (SSB).
