Teacher interview questions and answers — India, 2026

Indian K-12 interview panels are almost always two-stage: a verbal round with the principal or academic coordinator, followed by a demo class with real students. The verbal round filters for safety, pedagogy and cultural fit; the demo class filters for classroom presence. Everything else — the written test, the HR chat, the reference check — is decoration around those two stages.

Panels ask a mix of four question types: subject pedagogy ('how would you introduce fractions to a Class 4 student?'), classroom management ('a Class 7 student is bullying another — first 10 minutes?'), board-specific ('how would you plan a CBSE Class 10 formative assessment cycle?'), and HR ('why do you want to teach at our school?'). Strong candidates answer every question with a specific classroom story, not with theory.

PRT (Classes 1–5): expect 25–30 minutes verbal + a 20-minute demo with Class 2–4. Panels probe foundational literacy, phonics, behaviour management and NCF alignment. Pre-Primary interviews add a Montessori / NTT-flavoured child-psychology round.

TGT (Classes 6–10): 30–40 minutes verbal + 25–35 minutes demo. Deep dive on your subject, board syllabus, formative assessment plan and how you would handle a mixed-ability section of 40. CTET Paper 2 is almost always mandatory.

PGT (Classes 11–12): 40–60 minutes verbal + 30–40 minutes demo, often with Class 11. Panels probe board-exam strategy, subject mastery at undergraduate level, and any Class 12 results you have published. IB / IGCSE panels replace the board question with an inquiry-cycle / criterion-referenced question.

Leadership roles (Coordinator, Vice Principal, Principal): 60–90 minutes with the trust / management, sometimes preceded by a psychometric. Expect scenario questions on parent escalation, staff appraisal, budget planning, board affiliation cycles and safeguarding.

Panels use a simple rubric — lesson objective stated upfront, classroom management in the first three minutes, cold-call by name, group work or hands-on element, content accuracy, time management, and a clean recap. Miss any two and you rarely make the shortlist.

Every one of our role-specific guides ships with a printable 15-minute demo lesson skeleton — hook, explanation, activity, closure — that you can adapt to the topic the panel gives you 24–48 hours in advance. Bring printed handouts. Practise on the whiteboard, not just on paper.

Have an honest range ready, anchored to your current CTC. Format: 'I'm currently at ₹5.4 LPA and looking at ₹6.5–7 LPA in my next role.' Refusing to share a number usually ends the call — schools screen out candidates who won't anchor.

Reference bands (private schools, 2026): PRT ₹2.5–6 LPA, TGT ₹3–8 LPA, PGT ₹4–12+ LPA, Coordinator ₹8–15 LPA, Vice Principal ₹10–20 LPA, Principal ₹15–35+ LPA. IB and top CBSE schools sit at the top of each band; state-board and tier-2 city schools sit at the bottom.

Class size and section count. Parent-communication policy outside school hours. How the academic year is planned — top-down or by HoDs. Appraisal cycle and what's measured. CPD budget per teacher per year.

Do not ask about salary in the first round unless the panel raises it — that conversation belongs in the offer stage. Do not ask about leave policy in the first round either; both signal a wrong prioritisation.