TN Teachers Education University to conduct semester exams in January

CHENNAI: In an effort to bring the academic calendar back on schedule, the Tamil Nadu Teachers Education University has decided to conduct the semester examinations for B Ed and M Ed students earlier, in the third week of January 2026.

The university has 669 colleges of education under its affiliation, including seven government colleges, 14 government-aided institutions and 648 self-financing colleges. It also operates six departments of study and research in the field of education.

This year, around 58,500 students were enrolled in the first year of the B Ed course, while over 56,700 enrolled in the second year. Similarly, around 5,600 students are pursuing the first year of the M Ed programme, and approximately 55,000 students are in the second year.

A senior official from the Higher Education Department, speaking on condition of anonymity, said, “According to National Council for Teacher Education (NCTE) norms, B Ed and M Ed programmes must have 100 working days per semester, while the integrated B Sc-B Ed and BA-B Ed courses must have 125 working days.”

However, in the recent years the semester examinations had frequently exceeded the prescribed schedule. “Examinations that should have been held between November and December were postponed to April. Similarly, exams scheduled for April and May were conducted only in August, causing continuous disruption to the academic calendar,” the official pointed out.

According to an official notification, classes for the current academic year commenced in September and the last working day has been fixed on January 9. “The university plans to begin the semester examinations on January 20,” he added.

Since the admissions process for B Ed and M Ed courses concluded in the second week of October, colleges have been instructed to conduct additional special classes to help students prepare for the January examinations.