Punjab SSSC Clerk 37C/2026 Syllabus: 33 Percent a Subject, 40 Percent Overall, CPT Not in Merit

Detailed Employment Notice 37C/SSSC/PB/2026 for 1,270 Clerk posts in the District Courts of Punjab prints a computer-based written test and a qualifying Computer Proficiency Test. Posts, fee and who counts as a Punjab resident are on the recruitment page.

Written paper

Time is 2 hours. Total 100 marks.

Negative marking on MCQs is one-fourth. A wrong GK tick costs 0.25. A blank MCQ costs 0. Objective scores are normalised if the CBT runs in more than one shift. Subjective scores stay as awarded.

The 33 and 40 rule

You need 33 percent in each subject and 40 percent in aggregate.

Worked numbers:

• General Knowledge 33 percent of 50 is 16.5. Treat 17 as the safe integer if the board does not print a rounding rule.
• English Composition as a subject is 50 marks (20 MCQ + 30 typed). 33 percent of 50 is 16.5.
• Aggregate 40 percent of 100 is 40.

The typed English paper is checked only if GK is at least 33 percent. A candidate with 40 in English MCQs and 15 in GK does not get the essay, letter, precis or translation marked. That is the gate aggregators skip. Plan the 50 GK questions as the paper that unlocks the other 30 marks, not as a section you can leave for last.

What to revise

The notice does not print a GK syllabus. For a Punjab District Court clerk, the paper has in the past sat on:

• Punjab: districts, rivers (Sutlej, Beas, Ravi), the three regions (Majha, Malwa, Doaba), formation of the state on 1 November 1966, the Capital of Punjab at Chandigarh, SGPC, the Punjab Land Reforms Act in outline, current Council of Ministers only as names in the news.
• India: Constitution (Articles 14, 19, 21, 32, 226), Parliament, Fundamental Rights, Directive Principles, Panchayati Raj, the Supreme Court and High Courts. Article 226 is the High Court's writ jurisdiction. A District Court clerk works under that High Court.
• Everyday science and computers: input, output, memory, MS Word, Excel basics (the spreadsheet CPT is later, but Excel vocabulary leaks into GK), internet, email.
• Current affairs: last 12 months, national and Punjab.

English MCQs: error spotting, tenses, prepositions, articles, synonyms, one-word substitution, idioms. Typed paper: a 150-word essay that takes a side in the first sentence, a formal letter with sender, date, receiver, subject and a two-paragraph body, a precis at about one-third length, and a Punjabi-to-English translation that keeps legal and administrative words plain (notice, affidavit, summons, adjournment). Practise typing those four in 40 minutes, because the 2 hours also contain 70 MCQs.

Computer Proficiency Test

Called after the written test, for as many candidates, category-wise, as the High Court decides. Marks are not added to merit.

Part I, spreadsheet. 10 marks, 10 minutes. Pass is 40 percent, which is 4 marks. SUM, AVERAGE, IF, COUNTIF, freeze panes, and a simple sort are the usual 10-minute tasks. Practise in a real spreadsheet, not on paper.

Part II, English typing. 30 words a minute. Speed = (words typed − mistakes) / 10. This part is evaluated only if Part I is 4 or more.

PwBD, both arms affected (BA), can seek exemption with the disability certificate. Other PwBD candidates need that certificate plus a CMO / Civil Surgeon / Medical Superintendent certificate that they cannot type at 30 WPM, filed within 15 days of the written result.

A practice set with the one-fourth MCQ penalty is on the practice page.