NMTC 2026 in Kolkata: Cheenta Runs a Month of Prep Workshops

Cheenta is hosting the National Mathematics Talent Contest (NMTC) 2026 Preliminary Round on 30th August 2026 at Mitra Institution (Main), Kolkata. In the weeks leading up to it, Cheenta ran an offline workshop at its Lake Place Road center, from 8th to 29th August to get students ready for the kind of thinking NMTC actually rewards.

A Talent Search Since 1968

NMTC is organised by the Association of Mathematics Teachers of India (AMTI), founded in 1965. The contest itself began in 1968, making 2026 its 58th edition, one of India's longest-running olympiad-style talent searches, predating even the Indian National Mathematical Olympiad. Its founding aim has stayed constant: to identify students capable of original, creative thinking on unfamiliar, non-routine problems, not just fast recall of textbook methods. Last year alone, over 82,000 students across India sat the screening round, with the top 10% at each level advancing to the final.

Inside NMTC 2026

NMTC runs in two stages, organised by grade:

• Primary (Gauss, Classes 5–6), Sub-Junior (Kaprekar, 7–8), Junior (Bhaskara, 9–10), Inter (Ramanujan, 11–12), Senior (Aryabhata, first-year college).

Stage 1 — Preliminary Test: 30th August 2026, 10 AM–12 Noon. A 2-hour objective paper: 20 questions for Primary, 30 for the rest, with 80% of questions set at a distinctly Olympiad-like difficulty. Each school shortlists its own top 10% to advance.

Stage 2 — Final Test: 25th October 2026, a 3-hour subjective paper (at most 8 questions) pitched at IOQM/RMO/INMO level. Senior-level students skip the preliminary and go straight to this. Results and cash prizes for top scorers are announced in December.

How Cheenta Is Helping Students

Cheenta is hosting the preliminary exam itself at Mitra Institution (Main), giving Kolkata students a local, straightforward way to sit NMTC, continuing its long-standing role as a host center for olympiads like NMTC, the Australian Mathematics Competition, and the Sharygin Geometrical Olympiad.

Alongside that, Cheenta ran a dedicated prep workshop at its Lake Place Road center every weekend from 8th to 29th August. Rather than syllabus revision, sessions focused on working through non-routine, NMTC-style problems in person with mentors, building exactly the kind of reasoning the screening test is designed to reward.

What the Contest Tests

The syllabus is layered, each level building on the one below:

• Primary: Fractions, ratios, divisibility, basic mensuration and geometry.
• Sub-Junior: Adds surds, equations, 3D mensuration, and early number theory.
• Junior: Adds circle theorems, modular arithmetic, and combinatorics (permutations, pigeonhole principle).
• Inter: Adds inequalities, functional equations, and Diophantine equations.
• Senior: A subjective paper at typical B.Sc. mathematics level.

Across every level, the emphasis stays on creative problem-solving over formula recall — exactly what Cheenta's Lake Place Road sessions were built to sharpen ahead of the 30th August exam.