The National Testing Agency (NTA) will re-conduct the University Grants Commission's national educational tests (UGC-NET) June 2026 examinations for English, commerce and sociology after a committee found multiple errors in the question papers, including factual, typographical and translation mistakes, as well as the repetition of a significant number of questions from previous examinations.
The three papers, originally conducted between 22nd June and 30 June 2026, will now be held in September.
According to an
NTA public notice issued on 16 August 2026, the English paper will be held on 9th September from 9am to 12 noon. Commerce paper will be conducted the same day from 3pm to 6pm, while the sociology paper will be held on 10 September 2026 from 9am to 12 noon.
Candidates appearing for the re-test will not have to pay any additional examination fee.
NTA Committee Finds Multiple Errors in 3 Papers
The UGC-NET June 2026 examination was conducted from 22nd June to 30 June 2016 across 87 subjects to determine eligibility for junior research fellowship (JRF) positions, assistant professor positions, and admission to PhD programmes.
NTA received several complaints about errors in the English, commerce and sociology papers and subsequently constituted a committee to examine the issues.
The committee found factual, typographical and translation errors in all three papers. The problems included misspelt names of prominent scholars, garbled book titles, errors in question wording, grammatical mistakes, gender and number agreement errors, punctuation mistakes and the use of non-standard coined terms for established concepts.
It also found that a significant number of questions had been repeated from previous examinations.
Based on its findings, the committee recommended re-conducting the three papers to ensure a fair and error-free examination.
NTA said the extent of the defects meant they could not be addressed simply by dropping problematic questions during the answer-key challenge process.
"It has therefore been concluded by NTA that papers carrying such defects do not meet the standards of fairness and error-free examination," the agency said.
NTA said details of examination cities, centres and admit cards would be notified separately through its official websites.
The agency has reiterated that candidates will not have to pay any additional examination fee for the re-conducted papers.
Results for 84 Subjects To Proceed as Scheduled
The re-examination will not affect the result process for candidates who appeared for the other 84 subjects.
NTA said the results for the 84 subjects for which the answer-key challenge process was issued earlier would be declared as scheduled. The allocation of JRF seats and issuance of e-certificates for eligibility for assistant professor and PhD admission in these subjects would also not be delayed because of the re-test.
The agency said the number of candidates qualifying for assistant professor eligibility would be equal to 6% of the candidates who appeared in the June 2026 examination or the re-test, whichever is higher.
For English, commerce and sociology, subject-wise allocation for JRF, assistant professor eligibility, and PhD admission will be carried out in accordance with the UGC-NET information bulletin.
NTA also assured candidates that the number of seats already allocated for the three affected subjects would not be reduced after the re-examination.
"After the retest, the numbers already allocated for each subject shall not be reduced under any circumstances," NTA said.
Rahul Gandhi Criticises NTA
NTA's decision drew criticism from Congress leader and leader of Opposition (LoP) in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi.
In a post on X, Mr Gandhi criticised the cancellation and re-conduct of the three papers, saying thousands of candidates who had spent years preparing for the examination, paid fees and travelled to examination centres would now have to repeat the process.
"NTA makes the mistake but the student serves the sentence," Mr Gandhi said.
The LoP also questioned whether the papers had been leaked before the examination and demanded accountability from NTA's leadership.
He alleged that the examination system was putting financial and personal pressure on students and said the agency should be held accountable for the problems faced by candidates.
Mr Gandhi also reiterated his demand for accountability in the functioning of NTA and said the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, which he has previously sought, should not be the end of the matter.
NTA Asks Candidates To Rely on Official Information
Candidates who appeared for the English, commerce and sociology papers in June will have to take the examination again because of the defects identified by the NTA-appointed committee.
NTA said it remains committed to conducting examinations that are fair, accurate and transparent.
The agency has advised candidates to rely only on information published through its official websites and official communications. Details regarding examination cities, centres and admit cards for the re-test will be announced separately.
