UGC NET 2026 Exam: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has come under criticism after 67 out of 150 questions in the English paper of the UGC NET 2026 examination were found to be identical to questions asked in the 2024 UGC NET, according to a report by The Telegraph.
As per the report, all 67 repeated questions appeared in Paper II, which consists of subject-specific questions. The sequence of the answer options was also reportedly unchanged, raising concerns over the quality of the question paper and the examination's integrity.
UGC NET is conducted to determine the eligibility of candidates for the posts of Assistant Professor and admission to PhD programmes. The examination consists of two papers, Paper I, which includes 50 questions on teaching aptitude, reasoning ability, and general awareness, and Paper II, which contains 100 subject-related multiple-choice questions.
Academicians question NTA process
According to The Telegraph, several academicians have criticised the alleged repetition of questions and questioned the NTA's quality control mechanisms.
Former Dean of the Faculty of Education at Delhi University, Prof. Anita Rampal, as per the Telegraph report said that such large-scale repetition reflects inadequate scrutiny of the paper-setting process. She also expressed concern that the examination encourages rote learning rather than assessing analytical thinking and academic depth.
Former Vice-Chancellor of Guru Jambheshwar University, Prof. R.K. Chauhan as per the Telegraph report described the repetition as "academic dishonesty", stating that while one or two questions may be repeated after several years, repeating 67 questions from an examination conducted just two years ago is unacceptable.
The report also quoted Saavy, President of the All India Students Association (AISA) at Delhi University, who argued that the repeated questions may have provided an unfair advantage to candidates attending coaching institutes, where previous years' question papers are commonly used for preparation.
Sociology paper error allegations
According to an India Today report, a separate controversy also emerged after candidates who appeared for the UGC NET Sociology paper on June 30 alleged that the question paper contained several spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and poorly worded questions.
The report quoted researcher Antara Chakrabarty, who posted on X that nearly "50% of the paper had terrible spelling errors and grammatically disastrous sentence formation."
She alleged that the names of several prominent sociologists and authors were misspelled throughout the paper. According to her post, "Ritzer" appeared as "Putzer," "Parsons" as "Parsow," "Ghurye" as "Ghunye," "A R Desai" as "A K Desai," and "Nussbaum" as "Nusbaut." She also claimed that the word "social" was incorrectly printed as "oval."
Chakrabarty further alleged that the Hindi translation of several questions was poorly written as if it was translated by a 5 year old. Further stating that candidates struggled to understand the questions due to inaccurate translations and let alone attempt them.
As reported by India Today, another X user @janwangnao also criticised the paper, alleging that “filled with spelling errors, arbitrary questions, and the omission of many foundational sociological thinkers in favour of content that appeared outside the prescribed syllabus”.
The user further questioned the inclusion of a question asking candidates to arrange former Education Ministers in chronological order, arguing that such questions do not meaningfully assess critical thinking skills.
NTA response awaited
The NTA has not yet issued an official response regarding the allegations mentioned in The Telegraph and India Today report.
