REET Exam 2026 – Pre & Mains | Level 1 & Level 2 Complete Guide
Welcome to reetexam.com, your dedicated resource for the Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers (REET). Get accurate information for REET Pre and REET Mains, including Level 1 and Level 2 syllabus, exam pattern, preparation strategy, and latest official updates.
If you’re aiming for a government teaching job in Rajasthan, REET is the gate you have to pass through first. The Rajasthan Eligibility Examination for Teachers is conducted by the Board of Secondary Education, Rajasthan (BSER), and it certifies whether a candidate is fit to teach in a government school — either at the primary level (Classes 1–5) or the upper-primary level (Classes 6–8).
It’s worth being clear about what REET actually does, because a lot of first-time candidates get this part wrong. Clearing REET makes you eligible — it does not hand you a posting by itself. Actual recruitment happens through a separate selection process, commonly the Rajasthan 3rd Grade Teacher recruitment run by the Rajasthan Staff Selection Board (RSSB), and that process uses your REET Mains score to build the merit list. So REET is a qualifying exam and a merit exam rolled into one, depending on which stage you’re looking at — Pre only qualifies you, Mains actually ranks you.
REET Mains 2026 Paper-Wise Schedule
Who Should Apply for REET
Broadly, if you hold a Senior Secondary certificate with at least 50% marks plus a two-year Diploma in Elementary Education (or equivalent), you’re eligible for Level 1. For Level 2, a Bachelor’s degree with at least 50% marks plus a B.Ed. (or equivalent teacher training qualification) is the standard route, though there are alternate eligibility paths recognized by NCTE that BSER also accepts. Age limits, category-based relaxations, and exact percentage requirements are revised periodically, so treat this as a starting orientation and cross-check the specific eligibility clause in the current notification before you apply — a mismatch here is one of the most common (and most avoidable) reasons candidates get their applications rejected at the scrutiny stage.
REET Exam Structure — Pre & Mains
| Phase | Level | Classes | Purpose |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre | Level 1 | Class 1–5 | Primary Teacher Eligibility |
| Pre | Level 2 | Class 6–8 | Upper Primary Eligibility |
| Mains | Level 1 | Class 1–5 | Final Teacher Selection |
| Mains | Level 2 | Class 6–8 | Final Teacher Selection |
If you’re targeting primary posts, Level 1 is your track. If you want the upper-primary classes, go for Level 2. A meaningful number of candidates appear for both levels in the same cycle to keep both doors open — it’s a reasonable strategy if you genuinely have the study bandwidth to prepare both syllabi properly, but it can backfire if it means neither preparation gets the depth it needs. Be honest with yourself about your available study hours before deciding.
Exam Pattern at a Glance
Both Paper 1 (Level 1) and Paper 2 (Level 2) run for 2 hours 30 minutes and carry 150 objective-type questions. A notable change BSER introduced in recent cycles: a 5th answer option (“none of the above”) alongside the usual four. Candidates must select an option for every question — leaving a question fully blank (not selecting even the 5th option) attracts a ⅓ mark negative deduction, but there is no negative marking simply for choosing a wrong answer among the five. This is different from how many candidates remember older exam patterns from a few years back, so if you’re studying from an older prep book or a senior’s old notes, double-check this detail specifically — it changes your guessing strategy in the exam hall.
REET Pre — What It Actually Tests
REET Pre is the entry filter. It checks foundational subject knowledge and teaching aptitude — you cannot sit for REET Mains without clearing this stage first. What catches candidates off guard isn’t raw difficulty, it’s breadth: Pre covers Child Development and Pedagogy alongside your subject papers, and candidates who focus only on subject knowledge while treating pedagogy as an afterthought consistently underperform relative to their subject-test scores. I’ve seen this repeatedly with students who come from a strong academic background in Mathematics or Science but have never formally studied educational psychology — they assume common sense will carry them through the pedagogy section, and it usually doesn’t, because the questions test specific theoretical frameworks, not general intuition about children.
- REET Pre Level 1 Syllabus
- REET Pre Level 2 Syllabus
- REET Previous Year Papers
- REET Online Mock Tests
REET Mains — Where Selection Actually Happens
This stage decides who gets appointed. Your Mains score builds the merit list and determines your final rank and, often, your posting district. The jump in stakes from Pre to Mains means your preparation strategy needs to shift too — depth and accuracy matter more than speed here, because Mains questions are written to differentiate between candidates who genuinely understand a topic and those who’ve only memorized surface-level facts.
- REET Mains Level 1 Syllabus
- REET Mains Level 2 Syllabus
- REET Mains Cut Off Marks
- REET Preparation Strategy & Best Books
Frequently Asked Questions
Is REET the same as the recruitment exam? No. REET only certifies eligibility. Actual teacher recruitment and posting happens through a separate exam conducted by RSSB, which uses your REET score (particularly the Mains score) as an input to the selection process.
How long is a REET certificate valid? REET certificate validity has changed across cycles — some years it was valid for life, in others it carried a fixed validity period. Check the current notification for the applicable rule in your exam year.
Can I appear for both Level 1 and Level 2 in the same year? Yes, and many candidates do. You’ll need to prepare for both syllabi and manage two separate exam schedules, so plan your study calendar accordingly.
What happens if I don’t clear the cutoff in my first attempt? REET is conducted periodically (not a one-time exam), so you can reappear in the next cycle. Many successful candidates clear it on their second or third attempt after refining their preparation based on where they fell short.
Is coaching necessary for REET? Not strictly — many candidates clear REET through self-study using the right books and consistent mock test practice. Coaching can help with structure and discipline if you’re prone to losing focus while studying alone, but it’s not a substitute for putting in the actual hours.
Why reetexam.com
There’s no shortage of REET information online — official notices, coaching institute blogs, forwarded WhatsApp messages of uncertain origin. What I’ve tried to build here is one place where information is checked against official BSER/RSSB sources before it’s published, kept current as things change, and written by someone who understands the classroom side of this exam, not just the exam-pattern side. I’m a working school teacher in Rajasthan, managing multiple classes, and I run this site alongside that job — which means the practical, time-management-aware angle you’ll find in the preparation strategy section comes from lived experience, not just research.
- Focused only on REET — not a general jobs site trying to cover every exam under one roof
- Every syllabus and pattern detail cross-checked against official notifications before publishing
- No inflated “guaranteed selection” claims or artificial urgency
- Free to use, ad-supported, built for clarity over clutter