Navodaya Admission 2027: JNVST Class 6 registration begins, exam on November 28

The Navodaya Vidyalaya Samiti (NVS) has released the official notification and prospectus for the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya Selection Test (JNVST) 2027. Students seeking admission to Class 6 in Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalayas (JNVs) for academic session 2027-28 must submit their applications online till July 31, 2026. The entrance examination will be conducted on November 28, and results are expected by the end of March 2027.

Candidates studying in Class 5 during the 2026-27 academic session in recognized schools can apply, provided they meet the prescribed age and residency requirements. JNVST will be conducted on November 28, earlier than in the previous two years. The exam was held in December in 2025 and in April in 2024.

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NVS Admissions 2027: Eligibility criteria

A candidate can appear for JNVST only once. Check other criteria here.

• Students must satisfy all of the following conditions:
• Must be studying in Class 5 during the 2026-27 academic session
• Must be a bona fide resident of the district where admission is sought
• Should have studied and completed Classes 3, 4 and 5 in recognized schools
• Candidates born between May 1, 2015 and July 31, 2017 (both dates inclusive) are eligible
• Students who have already passed or repeated Class 5 are not eligible

New district-specific admission rule

One of the major highlights in this year's prospectus is that admissions remain district-specific. A student can apply only for the Jawahar Navodaya Vidyalaya in the district of residence. However, if the student studies in a neighbouring district, the school must be located within a radial distance of 10 km from his residence. It will still be subject to verification by NVS officials. Applications submitted for the wrong district will be rejected even after provisional selection.

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JNVST exam pattern, marking scheme

JNVST 2027 will be conducted in OMR-based mode and will comprise 80 objective-type questions carrying a total of 100 marks. Each correct answer will fetch 1.25 marks, while there will be no negative marking for incorrect responses.

Securing minimum qualifying marks (14 marks in Mental Ability and EVS, 07 marks in Arithmetic and 07 marks in Language) in each of the three sections is essential. Students must use only a blue or black ballpoint pen to mark their answers on the OMR sheet, as the use of pencils is strictly prohibited.

Notification reads, "The candidate must ensure that the OMR and question Booklet must have same number printed on it. In case of mismatch, it should be immediately brought to the notice of invigilator."

Revised syllabus

Vinod Kumar Bhong, a teacher from Maharashtra believes that decision to introduce a revised syllabus and conduct the exam on November 28 has created a major challenge for aspirants. He says, "Students need adequate time to understand the new syllabus, practise accordingly and prepare themselves for such a competitive examination. With the preparation period now significantly shorter, there are concerns that the hard work put in by many students over the year may go in vain."

He stressed that the authorities should urgently reconsider this decision, keeping in mind the future and aspirations of lakhs of students.

Reservation criteria

Under the reservation policy, at least 75% of seats in each district will be filled by candidates from rural areas, while the remaining seats will be allotted on merit from both rural and urban applicants. Reservation for Scheduled Castes (SC), Scheduled Tribes (ST) and Other Backward Classes (OBC) will be provided as per Government of India norms, with 27% reservation for candidates belonging to the Central OBC List. The prospectus also provides for a minimum one-third representation for girls and reservation for Divyang candidates as per applicable rules.

Students must read prospectus for details on tie-breaking criteria and sample questions.