TN TRB BEO Syllabus 2023 and Exam Pattern: Part A and Part B

The TN TRB BEO syllabus has two parts: a Class 10-level Compulsory Tamil Language Eligibility Test (Part A) and a 150-mark main paper (Part B) that covers degree-level subjects, General Knowledge and Child Psychology and Pedagogy. TRB's BEO syllabus page lists the BEO syllabus PDF under the title 'Direct Recruitment for the post of Block Educational Officer in Elementary Education department for the year 2018 2019' (the PDF is the annexure to G.O.(Ms.) No.33 dated 19.02.2019) and the Compulsory Eligibility Test in Tamil syllabus. Notification 01/2023, the latest BEO notification, refers candidates to the TRB website for the syllabus.

BEO exam pattern (Notification 01/2023)

Part A is qualifying only, and its marks are not used for ranking; the main answer sheet is evaluated only for candidates who reach 40% in Part A. Ranking is on Part B marks alone. The split of Part B marks follows G.O.(Ms.)No.33, School Education (EE 1(1)) Department, dated 19.02.2019.

Part A: Compulsory Tamil Language Eligibility Test

The Tamil test follows G.O.(Ms) No.121, School Education (TRB) Department, dated 01.07.2022, and its syllabus is of Class 10 standard. The syllabus document on TRB's page is titled உயர்நிலை – மொழிப்பாடத்திட்டம் தமிழ் (high school language syllabus, Tamil). Differently abled candidates may be exempted under the procedure in G.O.(Ms) No. 49, Human Resources (M) Department, dated 23.05.2022.

Part B, Part I: core subjects (110 marks)

• Unit I – History of Tamil Literature (set out in Tamil in the syllabus).
• Unit II – History of English Literature: development of prose, poetry, fiction, drama and grammar; approaches to literature from 1830 to the present day; teaching of English in India; British, American and Indian English literature; English language and grammar, including the makers of English (Spenser, Shakespeare, Milton and Dr. Johnson) and basic grammar such as parts of speech, tenses and voice.
• Unit III – Mathematical Aptitude and Mental Ability: data interpretation, simplification, percentage, HCF, LCM, ratio and proportion, simple and compound interest, area, volume, time and work, logical reasoning, puzzles and dice.
• Unit IV – General Science: Physics (units and measurement, laws of motion, force, work, energy and power), Chemistry (extraction of metals, acids and bases, periodic classification, chemical bonding), Botany (plant pathology, biotechnology, tissue culture) and Zoology (human physiology, environmental biology).
• Unit V – History, National Movements of Tamil Nadu and India and Constitutional Development: including the role of Tamil Nadu in the freedom struggle (Rajaji, VOC, Periyar, Bharathiar and others) and the Constitution of India, from the Preamble and fundamental rights onward.
• Unit VI – Physical Geography and Economic Commercial Geography of India: including policy on environment and ecology, Geography of Tamil Nadu and the nature of the Indian economy.

General Knowledge and Current Affairs (10 marks)

Unit VII covers the latest diary of events, national symbols, profile of states, eminent persons and places in news, sports and games, and books and authors.

Part B, Part II: Child Psychology and Pedagogy (30 marks)

The notification calls this component Educational Methodology. The syllabus lists ten units:

1. Human Growth and Development
2. Cognitive Development, including Piaget's stages of cognitive development and Bruner's theory
3. Social, Emotional and Moral Development
4. Learning, including conditioning (Pavlov, Skinner), trial and error (Thorndike) and learning by insight (Kohler)
5. Intelligence and Creativity
6. Motivation and Group Dynamics
7. Personality and Assessment
8. Mental Health and Hygiene
9. Guidance and Counselling
10. History of Educational Development in Tamil Nadu: growth of the modern education system since 1813, the organisational structure (DSE, DEE, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan, SCERT) and the roles and responsibilities of CEOs, DEOs and BEOs