Full FormsFull forms: school, boards and exams
47 full forms, each with a line on what it means.
These are the short forms a student in India meets from the first day of school to the last entrance examination: the boards that set the syllabus, the bodies that write textbooks and hold tests, the examinations themselves, and the everyday words of report cards and admission forms. Several of them look alike and are easy to confuse. CBSE is a board that holds examinations, while NCERT writes textbooks. SSC is a class 10 certificate in some states and also a central recruiting body. Each entry gives the full form and a line on what it is. Rules, dates and syllabuses change every year, so use these pages to understand a name, and go to the body's own website for anything you must act on.
Explained in full: CBSE NEET CGPA
CBSE
Central Board of Secondary Education
The national school board of India that sets the syllabus and holds the class 10 and class 12 board examinations for its affiliated schools.
ICSE
Indian Certificate of Secondary Education
The class 10 examination conducted by the Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations (CISCE).
ISC
Indian School Certificate
The class 12 examination of the CISCE board, taken two years after ICSE.
CISCE
Council for the Indian School Certificate Examinations
The private national board that conducts the ICSE (class 10) and ISC (class 12) examinations.
NCERT
National Council of Educational Research and Training
The government body that prepares model school textbooks and the national curriculum framework; CBSE schools mostly use its books.
SCERT
State Council of Educational Research and Training
The state-level counterpart of NCERT, which prepares textbooks and teacher training for state board schools.
NIOS
National Institute of Open Schooling
The national open school board that lets learners study and take class 10 and 12 examinations without attending regular school.
UGC
University Grants Commission
The statutory body that recognises universities in India, sets standards for higher education and gives grants.
AICTE
All India Council for Technical Education
The national council that regulates technical education such as engineering, management and pharmacy courses.
NTA
National Testing Agency
The agency set up by the Government of India to conduct entrance examinations such as JEE Main, NEET UG, CUET and UGC NET.
JEE
Joint Entrance Examination
The national engineering entrance test. JEE Main is for NITs and other colleges; JEE Advanced is for admission to the IITs.
NEET
National Eligibility cum Entrance Test
The single national entrance examination for MBBS, BDS and other medical courses in India.
CUET
Common University Entrance Test
A common entrance test for admission to undergraduate and postgraduate courses in central and other participating universities.
NET
National Eligibility Test
The examination that decides eligibility for assistant professor posts and research fellowships in Indian universities.
GATE
Graduate Aptitude Test in Engineering
A national examination in engineering and science subjects, used for M.Tech admissions and recruitment by public sector companies.
CAT
Common Admission Test
The entrance test conducted by the IIMs for admission to their management programmes; many other institutes accept its score.
CLAT
Common Law Admission Test
The entrance examination for admission to the national law universities.
IIT
Indian Institute of Technology
One of a group of autonomous public engineering and technology institutes, declared institutes of national importance.
IIM
Indian Institute of Management
One of a group of autonomous public business schools offering postgraduate management education.
NIT
National Institute of Technology
One of a group of centrally funded engineering institutes found in most states of India.
AIIMS
All India Institute of Medical Sciences
A group of autonomous public medical colleges and hospitals; the first was set up in New Delhi in 1956.
IGNOU
Indira Gandhi National Open University
The central open university that offers degrees and diplomas through distance learning.
ITI
Industrial Training Institute
An institute that gives vocational training in trades such as electrician, fitter and welder, usually after class 8 or 10.
NCC
National Cadet Corps
The youth wing of the Indian armed forces, open to school and college students, which trains them in drill, discipline and service.
NSS
National Service Scheme
A government scheme through which college and senior school students do voluntary community service.
PTM
Parent Teacher Meeting
A meeting at school where parents and teachers talk about a child's progress.
PTA
Parent Teacher Association
A body of parents and teachers of a school that works together on matters affecting the students.
GPA
Grade Point Average
The average of the grade points earned in the subjects of one term or semester.
CGPA
Cumulative Grade Point Average
The average of grade points over all terms or all subjects, used by boards and universities in place of a percentage.
SGPA
Semester Grade Point Average
The grade point average for a single semester.
MCQ
Multiple Choice Question
A question that offers several answers, of which the candidate picks the correct one.
OMR
Optical Mark Recognition
The technology that reads the bubbles darkened on an answer sheet; the sheet itself is commonly called an OMR sheet.
TC
Transfer Certificate
A certificate issued by a school or college when a student leaves, needed for admission elsewhere.
KG
Kindergarten
The pre-school classes, lower and upper (LKG and UKG), before class 1. The word is German for "children's garden".
LKG
Lower Kindergarten
The first of the two kindergarten years, usually for children of about four.
UKG
Upper Kindergarten
The second kindergarten year, just before class 1.
RTE
Right to Education
Short for the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act, 2009, which gives children aged 6 to 14 a right to schooling.
TET
Teacher Eligibility Test
A qualifying test for those who want to teach classes 1 to 8; the central version is called CTET.
CTET
Central Teacher Eligibility Test
The teacher eligibility test conducted by CBSE for central government and other schools.
SSC
Secondary School Certificate
The class 10 public examination in several state boards. The same letters also stand for the Staff Selection Commission.
HSC
Higher Secondary Certificate
The class 12 public examination in several state boards.
SSLC
Secondary School Leaving Certificate
The class 10 certificate in states such as Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu.
PCM
Physics, Chemistry, Mathematics
The subject group taken in classes 11 and 12 by students aiming at engineering.
PCB
Physics, Chemistry, Biology
The subject group taken in classes 11 and 12 by students aiming at medicine.
GK
General Knowledge
Facts about the world, current affairs and everyday things, tested in school quizzes and competitive examinations.
IQ
Intelligence Quotient
A score from standard tests meant to measure reasoning ability compared with others of the same age.
ISBN
International Standard Book Number
A unique 13-digit number printed on a book to identify its edition and publisher.
How to read an entry
The letters in bold are the short form as it is normally written. Under it is the full form, and then a line of meaning in plain words. Where the same letters mean something else in another field, the entry mentions it. "Copy" puts the short form, the full form and the meaning on your clipboard, ready to paste into notes or a message.
Check what matters. These pages explain names and terms in general. Rules, dates, fees and limits change: take them from the official body. Read on 12 November 2026.
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