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The Panel's Eye

What the three people across the table are writing down.

Every coaching centre can give you interview questions. Almost none can tell you how they are marked, because almost none have sat on the panel. Below is the other half of the sheet.

Q01Subject KnowledgePRT

“Explain the concept of HCF to a Class 5 student.”

Scored on
  • Did you actually pitch it at a ten-year-old, or recite the definition?
  • Did you use a concrete example before any formula?
  • Did you check the child had understood, or just keep talking?
Where the marks go

Candidates start with prime factorisation. A Class 5 child has no use for it. The panel is testing whether you can meet a child where they are — not whether you know what HCF is.

Q02Pedagogy & MethodsAny level

“How would you handle a student who is weak in fractions?”

Scored on
  • Did you try to diagnose the misconception before proposing a fix?
  • Is your remedy specific, or just 'more practice'?
  • Did you mention any concrete or visual material?
Where the marks go

'I would give extra practice and personal attention.' Every candidate says this. It scores nothing because it shows no diagnosis — you have not asked *why* the student is weak.

Q03Situational / StressAny level

“A student challenges your answer publicly in class. What do you do?”

Scored on
  • Composure — did the question rattle you?
  • Do you treat the challenge as legitimate, or as indiscipline?
  • Would you verify in front of the class, or defer and check?
Where the marks go

Treating it as a discipline problem. The panel is watching whether you can be wrong in public without losing authority — that is the whole test.

Q04Curriculum & PolicyTGT

“What is NEP 2020, and how does it affect mathematics teaching?”

Scored on
  • Do you know the policy, or only the name?
  • Can you connect it to a change in your own classroom?
  • Do you mention assessment, not just curriculum?
Where the marks go

Reciting the 5+3+3+4 structure and stopping. Everyone has memorised that. The marks are in the second half of the question, which most candidates never reach.

Q05Personal & ProfessionalAny level

“Why do you want to teach?”

Scored on
  • Is the answer specific to you, or a template?
  • Does it survive a follow-up question?
  • Does it match what your record actually shows?
Where the marks go

'Teaching is a noble profession and I want to serve society.' The panel has heard this forty times before lunch. A single honest, specific reason outscores it every time.

This is a sample

The question bank runs to hundreds more.

Subject knowledge, pedagogy, classroom management, curriculum and policy, and the situational questions that catch people out. Candidates on the interview coaching program rehearse against all of them — and then face three real mock panels.

See the interview coaching program