Repeated questions, garbled names: Why NTA is redoing 3 UGC-NET papers

The National Testing Agency will re-conduct UGC-NET June 2026 papers in English, Commerce and Sociology after an inquiry found multiple factual, typographical, translation and question-repetition errors, while AISA has demanded the dissolution of the NTA.

Misspelt scholars, repeated questions and other errors have forced the NTA to re-conduct three UGC-NET papers, while AISA has demanded the agency's dissolution.

What happened?

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced fresh examinations for three UGC-NET June 2026 papers after receiving complaints about errors in the question papers.

The affected subjects are English, Commerce and Sociology. The agency said a committee examined the complaints and recommended re-conducting the three papers to ensure a fair and error-free examination.

The English and Commerce papers will be held on September 9, while the Sociology paper will be conducted on September 10. Candidates appearing for the re-examination will not have to pay an additional examination fee.

What were the errors?

The problems identified were not limited to spelling mistakes. According to the NTA, the committee found factual, typographical and translation errors, along with grammatical and punctuation mistakes, incorrect wording and non-standard terms.

The Sociology paper reportedly contained misspelt names of scholars, including Ritzer being written as “Putzer”, Ghurye as “Ghunye”, Parsons as “Parsow” and Nussbaum as “Nusbaut”.

Candidates and coaching teachers also alleged that questions in the English and Commerce papers had been repeated from previous UGC-NET examinations.

In English, reportedly repeated questions included those concerning Kanthapura, The Life Divine, The Time Machine, Brave New World and literary critics such as Jacques Derrida and Roland Barthes.

Commerce candidates similarly flagged repeated questions involving corporate taxation, accounting, capital structure theories and service marketing.

AISA demands NTA dissolution

The All India Students' Association (AISA) has demanded the dissolution of the NTA following the re-conduct announcement.

AISA also alleged that the Sociology paper had been leaked and called for an inquiry and action against those responsible. The organisation described the alleged leak as a criminal act and demanded accountability from people involved in setting and conducting the examination.

The student organisation also criticised the Centre's Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Act, 2026, and called for the law to be used against those responsible if examination irregularities are established.

When will the UGC-NET re-exam be held?

The NTA has announced the following schedule:

• English: September 9, 9am to noon
• Commerce: September 9, 3pm to 6pm
• Sociology: September 10, 9am to noon

The agency said city, examination centre and admit-card details would be announced separately on its official website.

Why it matters

The UGC-NET is used to determine eligibility for Junior Research Fellowship, Assistant Professor positions and admission to PhD programmes. Errors in question papers can therefore affect candidates competing for academic and research opportunities.

The decision also adds to scrutiny of the NTA, which has faced repeated criticism over examination management. AISA's demand for the agency's dissolution puts the latest UGC-NET controversy into a wider debate over accountability and reliability in national-level examinations.

The NTA, however, has said its committee recommended the re-conduct specifically to ensure a fair and error-free examination.

Analysis

The UGC-NET controversy is significant because the NTA's own inquiry acknowledged multiple categories of errors rather than a single isolated printing mistake. The agency cited factual and typographical mistakes, translation problems, grammatical errors, punctuation issues and repetition of previously administered questions.

For candidates, the re-examination means having to prepare and appear again despite already completing the original test. The decision to waive the additional examination fee addresses the direct financial burden, but questions over the reliability of the examination process remain.

AISA's separate allegation of a Sociology paper leak is more serious and would require an independent inquiry to establish the facts. The NTA's announcement of re-conducting the paper on grounds of errors does not, by itself, establish that a leak occurred.

The controversy therefore has two distinct issues: the errors that the NTA committee has acknowledged, and the separate allegation of a paper leak raised by AISA. Any action under the examination-related law would depend on the findings of an investigation.