UPESSC Headmaster 2026 Notification: 1,172 High School Headships for Experienced Teachers

Heads of junior high schools can apply, along with Class 9 to 12 teachers, in UPESSC Headmaster recruitment 2026. The Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission (UPESSC) is filling 1,172 Headmaster (Pradhanadhyapak) posts in aided high schools under Advertisement No. 09/2026. Registration and the online form started on 23 October 2026, and the fee must be paid by 22 November 2026. The written exam is fixed for 7 January 2027. You need a postgraduate degree with 50% marks, a B.Ed (Bachelor of Education) or B.P.Ed (Bachelor of Physical Education), and four years of qualifying experience. You must also be at least 30 on 1 July 2026.

1,037 boys’ and 135 girls’ high schools in UPESSC Headmaster recruitment 2026

The posts are in non-government aided schools (ashaskiya sahayata prapt vidyalaya) under the Secondary Education Department of Uttar Pradesh. The vacancy requests, called requisitions, came through the Directorate of Secondary Education, Prayagraj. Every school in the list is aided at the high school level (Classes 9 and 10).

All 1,172 posts are unreserved. There is no SC, ST, OBC or EWS quota in this advertisement. The number of posts can go up or down.

586 Headmaster seats date back to 2019-20 and 2021-22

Half of the seats are old vacancies. Para 5.1 says they were included in compliance with a High Court order of 15 April 2026. The case is Special Appeal No. 376/2026, Rajkumar Singh and others versus State of UP and others. The table above takes the 2019-20 and 2021-22 figures from para 5.1. We counted the 2026 figures from the school-wise list (Table 2, printed pages 15 to 54). That list has 1,172 rows, one post per school.

The school-wise list also tells you whether each school runs an attached primary section. 100 of the 1,172 schools do. School preferences are taken, and schools allotted, later by the Director of Secondary Education, UP, Prayagraj (para 12).

B.Ed or B.P.Ed, a 50% master’s degree, and the junior high school headship route

You need all three of these by the last date for accepting applications (para 2.9):

1. A postgraduate degree with at least 50% marks, from a university set up by law or recognised by the government, or a deemed university.
2. A B.Ed or B.P.Ed degree from a course recognised by the NCTE (National Council for Teacher Education).
3. Four years of experience, by one of two routes. Route one is at least 4 years of teaching as a Lecturer or Assistant Teacher in Classes 9 to 12 of an institution recognised by the Central or State Government. Route two is at least 4 years of work as Headmaster of a junior high school.

B.P.Ed holders, such as physical education teachers, can apply if they meet the other conditions. The junior high school route also widens the field, because it opens the post to junior high school heads (in UP, usually Classes 6 to 8).

Signatures on the Headmaster experience certificate, and the basic education officer’s role

Your experience must come on the format in Appendix-2 (printed page 13). It asks for the school’s recognition level, whether it is aided (vitt sahit) or unaided (vitt viheen), your first appointment order, joining date and pay scale. It also asks for your service, in years, months and days, as Assistant Teacher (TGT, trained graduate teacher), Lecturer (PGT, post-graduate teacher) and Headmaster of a junior high school.

A notice of 4 November 2026 (letter 3294/41(2026), covering Advt 08 and 09) eases the certificate rule for the online form. Say you find it hard or slow to get the certificate approved by the competent officers. Then you may fill in the Appendix-2 format yourself, sign it, get your school’s Principal to sign it, attach it and submit the form. The officer-countersigned certificate is still compulsory later, at the interview or document check. Without it your candidature will be rejected, and you will get no other chance. Get the countersigned certificate ready well before the interview.

Four people sign it: the Principal, the Manager (or Management Director), the Finance and Accounts Officer, and one more officer. That officer is the District Inspector of Schools (DIOS), the District Basic Education Officer (BSA) or the Commissioner of the Kendriya Vidyalaya Sangathan. The format does not say which officer signs for which kind of school. In our reading, a junior high school head will often need the BSA, but check with your district office. Then the Joint Director of Education, the competent divisional officer or the regional officer countersigns it. Both offices must write their letter number and date. You must bring this certificate, in original, to the interview.

₹56,100 starting basic, and why no in-hand figure is given

The pay scale is Level 10, from ₹56,100 to ₹1,77,500 a month. That figure is basic pay on the pay matrix. The advertisement does not give allowances, so we do not estimate in-hand pay here.

The fee is ₹1,500 for every category: General, OBC, EWS, SC, ST and Divyangjan (persons with disability). You pay it online by card or net banking, through the portal’s payment gateway after registration. A payment counts only after the bank confirms it. A fee paid for a wrong form is not refunded or moved to another form.

The minimum age is 30 on 1 July 2026. The retirement (superannuation) age for the post is 62. The form of anyone who is over 62 on 1 July 2026, or who leaves out a date of birth, will not be accepted. Your date of birth is taken only from your High School (or equivalent) certificate.

Plus 3, minus 1: how the 120-question Headmaster paper is marked

The final merit list is out of 400 marks. The written exam carries 360 marks and has 120 objective questions. The interview carries 40 marks.

• The paper lasts 2 hours. Each question has four options, and you darken one circle on an OMR (machine-read) answer sheet with a black ballpoint pen.
• A right answer earns 3 marks. A wrong answer loses 1 mark. Para 9 applies the same minus 1 to a question with more than one circle marked, while para 10.5 says such a question is not evaluated and gets no marks.
• The paper is in Hindi and English, except for language subjects.
• The syllabus is on www.upessc.up.gov.in.
• Exam centres are at district headquarters. You learn your district 10 days before the exam and your centre 3 days before, through the admit card. Answers written at any other centre are not evaluated.

If two candidates have equal merit, UPESSC looks first at written marks, then interview marks, then the higher postgraduate percentage, then B.Ed or B.P.Ed marks. If everything is still equal, the older candidate ranks higher. The written cut-off and marks are put on the website after selection ends.

Advertisement says 25 November, press note says 26: correct by the earlier date

The two official papers give different last dates for correcting the online form. The advertisement’s dates table (printed page 2) says 25 November 2026. The press note of 23 October 2026 says 26 November 2026. Every other date in the two papers matches.

Para 2.4 also limits what you can change. Once you finally submit, you cannot change your category, sub-category, date of birth or gender. If you need a correction, make it by 25 November 2026, the earlier of the two dates. If you submit more than one form, only the last one counts.

Para 11.6 and 11.7: why the Headmaster advertisement says Pradhanacharya

Men cannot be appointed in a girls’ institution (para 11.6). This para, copied into the Headmaster advertisement, uses the word Pradhanacharya (Principal). Women are eligible for both boys’ and girls’ schools. But a woman must choose one group, boys’ or girls’, when she fills the form (para 11.7).

Advt 09 Headmaster against Advt 08 Principal, row by row

UPESSC released Advt 08/2026 for Principals of aided intermediate colleges on the same day. The two are easy to mix up.

Both need a 50% postgraduate degree, a minimum age of 30 on 1 July 2026, and a 360-mark written exam with a 40-mark interview. Both fee deadlines fall on 22 November 2026, and both exams are fixed for 7 January 2027.

Headmaster interview: 13 listed documents, two attested sets and the Appendix-2 certificate

Shortlisting for the interview depends on written marks. UPESSC will give the interview date at least 10 days ahead by SMS, e-mail, newspaper and its website. Attending is compulsory, and the interview date cannot be changed on request. There is no travel allowance for the exam or the interview, and no daily allowance for the interview.

Bring two separate sets of self-attested copies, plus all originals:

• two copies of your online form;
• High School and Intermediate marksheets and certificates;
• graduation marksheets for all three years, and the degree;
• B.Ed or B.P.Ed marksheet and degree;
• postgraduate marksheets for both years, and the degree;
• the Appendix-2 experience certificate, in original with a copy;
• a no-objection certificate (NOC) from your employer, in original with a copy;
• a disability certificate in the Appendix-1 format, if it applies;
• the Appendix-3 affidavit, in two copies;
• a character certificate from your last institution and two from respectable persons;
• an affidavit stating whether any court case is pending or decided against you.

Before final selection, you also need a fitness certificate from a medical officer of a government hospital or primary health centre.

OTR first, English-only form entries and the ₹1,500 payment

1. Complete the One Time Registration (OTR) on the UPESSC portal. The form can be filled only after OTR. The advertisements page links to apply.upessc.org.
2. Fill the form in English. Choose the boys’ or girls’ group if you are a woman.
3. Upload your signature (on white background) and passport-size photo as JPG or JPEG, each 10 KB to 100 KB. Upload certificates as PDF files of 20 KB to 200 KB.
4. Pay ₹1,500 online by 22 November 2026 and keep the receipt.
5. Print three copies of the submitted form. Two go with your documents at the interview.

For help, the advertisement gives the technical helpline 08448573939 (9:30 AM to 6 PM, Monday to Saturday) and Support@upessc.org. The Commission’s own line for qualification questions is 0532-2466851 (10 AM to 5 PM, Monday to Saturday).

More openings: Uttar Pradesh government jobs, teaching jobs and jobs for postgraduates. You can also read our page on UPESSC’s Advt 05/2026 primary teacher posts, and on the BPSC TRE 4.0 school teacher drive in Bihar.

✍️ Published byLokesh Rathore

Lokesh Rathore is a content writer with over 4 years of experience covering Government Jobs, Sarkari Result, Admit Card and Sarkari Yojana. He turns complex official notifications into clear, accurate and easy-to-follow updates for job seekers across India - with every post cross-checked against official government sources.

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