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NTA has said the problems identified in the three papers could not be adequately addressed through the normal answer-key correction process.
The decision means thousands of candidates who had already completed the June examination will have to sit for the test again in September. (AI Generated Image)
The National Testing Agency (NTA) has ordered a fresh UGC-NET examination for candidates who appeared for English, Commerce and Sociology in the June 2026 session after an expert committee found multiple errors in the question papers.
The decision means thousands of candidates who had already completed the June examination will have to sit for the test again in September. NTA has said the problems identified in the three papers could not be adequately addressed through the normal answer-key correction process.
Read More: ‘450-600 Km From Home’: UGC-NET Students Ask Who Will Pay For The Re-Exam
Here are the five things affected UGC-NET candidates need to know.
1. Why is NTA conducting a retest for English, Commerce and Sociology?
The June 2026 UGC-NET examination was held between June 22 and June 30 across 87 subjects.
After candidates raised concerns about the English, Commerce and Sociology papers, NTA set up a committee to examine the complaints.
The committee found several categories of errors in the three papers, including factual, typographical and translation errors. The review also identified problems such as misspelt names of prominent scholars, incorrect or garbled book titles, errors in question wording, grammatical mistakes, gender and number agreement issues, punctuation errors and the use of non-standard terms for established concepts.
The committee also found that a significant number of questions had been repeated from previous examinations.
NTA said the problems were extensive enough that simply removing individual defective questions during the answer-key process would not be sufficient to ensure a fair examination. It therefore decided to conduct the three papers afresh.
For candidates, the key takeaway is that this is not an optional re-examination or a routine answer-key correction. If you appeared for one of these three subjects in June, you need to prepare to take the paper again.
2. When is the retest and who has to appear?
The fresh examination will be conducted on September 9 and 10, 2026.
The schedule announced by NTA is:
- English: September 9, 9 am to 12 noon
- Commerce: September 9, 3 pm to 6 pm
- Sociology: September 10, 9 am to 12 noon
The retest applies to candidates who appeared for the affected subjects in the June examination.
Candidates who appeared for the other 84 UGC-NET subjects do not have to take the examination again. Their result process will continue separately.
The UGC-NET examination comprises Paper 1 and Paper 2, with 150 questions carrying a total of 300 marks, to be attempted in three hours. Candidates appearing for the retest should therefore prepare for the complete examination rather than treating it as a correction exercise based on their June paper.
3. Do candidates have to pay the examination fee again?
No. NTA has said that candidates appearing for the re-examination of English, Commerce and Sociology will not have to pay an additional examination fee.
Candidates should also not assume that they need to submit a fresh application simply because the examination is being conducted again. They should wait for NTA’s official instructions on the retest and admit card.
This is particularly important because the retest is being conducted for candidates who have already appeared for the affected papers.
4. What happens to the June attempt and the qualifying criteria?
Candidates who appeared for English, Commerce or Sociology in June should treat the September examination as the fresh examination for the affected subjects.
NTA has also announced a specific safeguard concerning Assistant Professor eligibility.
The number of candidates qualifying for Assistant Professor eligibility in these three subjects will be calculated at 6 per cent of the candidates who appeared in the June examination or the re-test, whichever is higher.
NTA has further said that the number of JRF, Assistant Professor eligibility and PhD admission slots already allocated to the three subjects will not be reduced because of the re-examination.
This means candidates should not assume that the retest will automatically make the qualifying pool smaller or reduce the number of available opportunities in these subjects.
The retest decision also does not affect candidates from the other 84 subjects. Their results, JRF allocation and eligibility certificates will proceed separately.
5. What happens next and when will candidates get their admit cards?
For candidates in English, Commerce and Sociology, the next important updates will be the examination city information and fresh admit cards. NTA has said details regarding the examination city, examination centre and admit cards will be notified separately.
Candidates should therefore regularly check the official UGC-NET/NTA website rather than relying on messages circulating on social media.
Once the admit card is released, candidates should carefully check:
- Examination date
- Shift and reporting time
- Examination centre
- Candidate details
- Instructions for the computer-based test
Candidates should also keep their previous UGC-NET application and examination details available until the retest process is completed.
The September examination is limited to English, Commerce and Sociology.
The other 84 subjects are not being re-conducted because of the errors identified in these three papers. Their result process will continue according to the existing schedule.
The development comes soon after another major re-examination episode involving NEET, where a fresh test was conducted after the original medical entrance examination was hit by a paper-leak controversy and triggered protests by candidates. The UGC-NET case is different: NTA’s decision here follows the committee’s findings on errors and repeated questions in the three papers.
For affected UGC-NET candidates, however, the immediate takeaway is that if you appeared for English, Commerce or Sociology in June, mark September 9 or 10, prepare for the full paper again, and wait for NTA’s fresh admit-card and centre instructions.
About the Author
Pragati is a News Editor at news18.com. Having headed the Business and Viral sections, Pragati now ideates, writes and edits long-form features and articles on national and global affairs. She ensures…Read More
August 17, 2026, 09:58 IST
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