Bhubaneswar: The Higher Education Department of the Odisha Government on Friday published the First Selection Merit List for Phase-I admissions to the Four-Year Integrated Teacher Education Programme (ITEP) for the academic session 2026-27 through the Student Academic Management System (SAMS).
Introduced under SAMS for the first time this academic year, the Four-Year ITEP integrates undergraduate education with teacher training, enabling students to earn both their undergraduate degree and Bachelor of Education (B.Ed.) qualification within four years. Admission to the programme was open to candidates who appeared in the National Common Entrance Test (NCET)-2026 conducted by the National Testing Agency (NTA).
According to the department, 1,500 seats have been sanctioned across participating institutions. The programme received an encouraging response, with 10,647 students applying for admission. Of these, 1,463 candidates have been selected in the first round.
Of the selected candidates, 562 are male and 901 are female. No transgender candidates have been selected in the first phase. Stream-wise, 550 students have been selected for the B.Sc. B.Ed. programme, 800 for the B.A. B.Ed. programme and 113 for the B.Com. B.Ed. programme.
The highest cut-off marks in the Science and Arts streams were recorded at Ravenshaw University. In the Science stream, the highest cut-off stood at 461.13 marks for Zoology under the B.Sc. B.Ed. programme, while in the Arts stream, the highest cut-off was 391.82 marks for Economics under the B.A. B.Ed. programme. In the Commerce stream, Rajdhani (Degree) College, Bhubaneswar, recorded the highest cut-off of 227.82 marks under the B.Com. B.Ed. programme.
The department has revised the schedule for the Freeze and Slide options due to a scheduled maintenance activity. Candidates can exercise these options from 11:00 AM on July 13 to 4:00 PM on July 15, 2026.
Students opting for the “Freeze” option must pay the prescribed admission fee, download their Intimation Letter and report to their allotted Higher Education Institutions between 12:00 noon on July 13 and 5:00 PM on July 15 to complete the admission process. Candidates choosing the “Slide” option are required to pay the admission fee and await the second-round selection process and need not report to their allotted institutions at this stage.
The introduction of ITEP under SAMS marks a significant step towards strengthening teacher education in Odisha and creating a professionally trained and future-ready teaching workforce in the state.
