Courses
Courses for Kids
Free study material
Offline Centres
More
Store Icon
Store

NCO 2024-25 Eligibility Criteria

ffImage
Olympiads

Introduction to NCO

NCO is a knowledge competition held for the students of classes 1 to 10. It aims to identify and enhance the scientific abilities of the students. The NCO is one of the most prestigious olympiads that are held all across the country.

 

The Science Olympiad Foundation (SFO) decides the eligibility criteria for appearing in the NCO. This article will make the students aware about the NCO 2024-25 eligibility criteria, exam date, pattern, question structure, and marking scheme along with preparation tips. Students are encouraged to read the full article to get acquainted with all things related to NCO.

NCO 2024-25 Exam Eligibility

The students should fulfill the following eligibility criteria to appear for the National Cyber Olympiad:

  • The school in which the student is studying should be registered with the Science Olympiad Foundation. If the school is not registered, they can register themselves by sending an email to the SOF.

  • Only the students of grades 1 to 10 are eligible.

  • The students should fill the application form and submit it through school only. No individual application is accepted by the Science Olympiad Foundation.

  • Computer & IT is the compulsory subject that the student has to attempt.

  • Only a recognised board such as CBSE, ICSE and State Boards are allowed to participate in the exam.

  • The students can attempt the olympiad only once in an academic year.

NCO 2024-25 Important Dates - Exam and Result

The NCO 2023-24 important dates have been announced by the SOF. Students can go through the table below for an overview of the same.


Exam

Result

  • There are 2 dates schools can choose for the conduction of NCO Exam.

  • The school can select either of these  2 dates - 28th November 2024 & 19th December 2024.


  • NCO Results are expected to be  declared within 8 weeks of each Exam. 

  • The results are sent to schools as well as uploaded on the official website.


NCO 2024-25 - Structure and Pattern

Before you sit for the NCO Exam 2024-25, it is essential that you are aware of the structure, pattern and the marking scheme of the Exam. For a detailed explanation, look through the table below.


Class

Topic

No of Questions

Marks for Each Question

Total Marks

1-4

Logical Reasoning

5

1

5

Computers & IT

25

1

25

Achievers Section

5

2

10

Grand Total

35


40

5-10

Logical Reasoning

10

1

10

Computers & IT

35

1

35

Achievers Section

5

3

15

Grand Total

50


60

 

Why Should Students Opt for the NCO Exam?

For all those students who are quite interested in Cyber securities and features needed for Cyber studies, they can now take part in the NCO exam, also called the National Cyber Olympiad. This examination is one of the first global competitions conducted to search for young cyber talents. NCO helps inspire the younger generations to both enhance and get to know more about the issues related to computers and IT. This exam in search of talent is conducted annually for all candidates deemed eligible.

 

The main aim of conducting the exam is to identify the following talents in the students:

1. Mental Ability

2. Logical Reasoning

3. Analytical Reasoning

 

All of these talents are highly required if you’d like to solve a problem in the field of IT and computers. This competition is conducted at a single level and is valid for all students who belong to class 1 to class 10.

 

NCO 2024-25 Preparation Tips

Whether or not a student is appearing for the NCO for the first time, NCO 2024-25 can make them nervous. Therefore, the experts at Vedantu bring you tips that can help you to score well in the NCO Exam.

  1. Be thorough with the NCO Syllabus. 

  2. Go through the Exam structure and pattern.

  3. Identify your tough spots and work on them more.

  4. Take help of relevant books for concept clarity.

  5. To become more efficient in your preparation, create and follow a time table.

  6. Take regular breaks.

  7. Practise sample papers and time yourself.

 

Conclusion

The National Cyber Olympiad is extremely beneficial. The NCO, which is  held for children in grades 1 through 10, assess a student's aptitude as well as their understanding of cyber sciences. And, there are no disadvantages to taking the NCO exam. It is nothing more than a stepping stone to success and another challenge in a student's academic life.

FAQs on NCO 2024-25 Eligibility Criteria

1. Can the Students Attempt More Than One Olympiad Exams Each Year?

Ans: Although all the Olympiad exams such as NSO, NCO, IGKO, IMO, IEO, ICO are conducted by Science Olympiad Foundation each year. But all are completely different exams.Students can attempt more than one exam each year as per their class eligibility.

2. Can the Students Enroll for the Test If There Are Less Than 5 Students in a School Who Are Interested to Take Part in the SOF NCO Exam?

Ans: Students cannot enroll for the SOF NCO exam if there are less than 5 students who are interested to take part in the exam. It is not viable for the SOF to hold NCO exams for less than 5 students.Hence, at least 5 students should enroll for a test so that schools become a center.

3. How Can the Students Get SOF NCO Exam Sample Papers?

Ans: SOF sends the sample papers for all the Olympiad exams to the registered school. SOF NCO sample papers are also available on the SOF website. Along with the NCO exam sample papers, students also may benefit from subscribing to Olympiad Skill Development System.

4. How to Crack the NCO Exam?

Ans: Students interested to take part in the NCO exam can crack the NCO exams with good scores by following the tips and tricks given below.

  1. The first and foremost thing is that the students should be well aware of the NCO exam pattern followed by the SOF. It implies that students should know the different sections of the paper in which it is divided into, duration of exam, marking scheme, etc. With this, students will be able to give their best in the exam.

  2. The next thing on which all the students must take care of while preparing for the SOF NCO exam is the Computer and IT sections. Students must be well versed with the updated technology because this is the only section in which students are mostly tested in the NCO exam. Hence, students must be well aware of the technology in a precise way.

  3. The third important thing which students cannot ignore is practice. The more the students practice for the exam, the more they will be aware of the type of questions that can be asked in the exam. Hence, practicing more and more will make the students more confident and would also help them to score maximum marks.

5. How will students be able to know the details regarding the NCO competition?

Ans: Apart from the college authorities informing you regarding the details of the NCO competition, you can also go through the details via the official website of NCO, where all the details of the admission procedure, the eligibility of the students, the fees to be paid, and all other information is mentioned. You can likewise also go over to Vedantu and get to know all about NCO competition and its related details. You can also lookup the syllabus and take some special classes for the same via the Vedantu app.

6. What is the procedure for applying for NCO competition 2024-25?

Ans: In order to get registered for NCO 2024-25, the students will have to fill in an NCO 2024-25 application form that asks for the entire details of the student who would like to participate in the event. The procedure for the same is as follows:

  • The officials who are conducting the NCO 2024-25

  •  exam will handover the application form to the school authorities along with the booklets that will have the details mentioned

  • The students are then given the booklet to go through the details, after which the interested candidates can apply by filling in the application form.

  • The students need to make sure that the information provided is accurate and correct. If any mistake is found, it might affect the rewards that you obtain after the competition.

  • Once you fill In all the necessary details, you need to submit the application form within the deadline by paying the fee for the NCO exam 2024-25.

7. What is the fee that needs to be paid in order to get registered for NCO 2024-25?

Ans: In order to get registered for the National Cyber Olympiad, the students need to pay a fixed amount of fee, and the procedure for the same is as follows:

  • Once you register yourself by submitting the application form, you are either asked to pay the application fee online or via an offline method.

  • The application fee per student is Rs. 125, and this amount needs to be paid along with the application form to complete the application procedure.

  • You can either pay the fee to your school authorities or you can pay online via the official site of the NCO 2024-25 exam.

8. What are the NCO exam dates, and when will the students receive the NCO admit card?

Ans: The NCO 2024-25 exam will be conducted in two sets, which means that the first set will be conducted on 28th November 2024, and the second set will be conducted on 19th December 2024. This is followed by the declaration of the result by January end 2025. It is to be noted that to be eligible for the exam, and you need to register before the registration closes. In this case, the NCO exam registration closes around 15 days before the exam takes place.


As for the NCO admit card is either provided by the school authorities after successful registration of the student, or the student can download the admit card via an online method.

9. When are the NCO results released?

Ans: The NCO 2024-25 exam results will be released by January end 2025 on the official website of the Science Olympiad Foundation. Make sure you check the official website at least once or twice to see if they are released. In order to view the results, the students need to enter the following details:

1. Class to which the student belongs

2. Section to which the student belongs

3. Registration number of the student attending the NCO 2024-25 exam

4. Date of birth of the student attending NCO 2024-25

5. School code

Based on the results, students receive awards based on the international, state, and school ranking in the SOF NCO 2024-25 exam. The awards may include cash rewards, certificates, gifts, medals, etc. Apart from these rewards, the international toppers from each class also get a grand prize presented at an event in Delhi in the presence of a renowned guest.