The National Testing Agency (NTA) began the UGC-NET June 2026 re-examination on Wednesday for candidates who appeared for the English and Commerce papers, following serious errors detected in the original question papers. The Sociology paper will be conducted on September 10.
The re-examination was ordered after an expert committee reviewed complaints received about the three papers and identified multiple factual, typographical, translation and language-related problems. The panel also found that a significant number of questions had been repeated from earlier examinations.
English Exam Held Wednesday
The English paper is being conducted on September 9 from 9 am to noon in the first shift.
Candidates appearing for the examination were required to follow the reporting and verification instructions mentioned on their individual admit cards. The NTA has also advised candidates appearing at centres in Delhi to plan their journeys in advance because of possible traffic restrictions and delays.
The Commerce paper is scheduled for the second shift on the same day.
Commerce Exam in Second Shift
Candidates appearing for Commerce are taking the re-examination from 3 pm to 6 pm on September 9.
The re-test is being conducted specifically for candidates who appeared in the affected subjects during the original June examination. NTA has clarified that candidates appearing for the re-examination will not have to pay any additional examination fee.
The examination agency has advised candidates to rely on their admit cards and official NTA communications for centre and examination-related instructions.
Sociology Paper on September 10
The third affected paper, Sociology, will be conducted on September 10 from 9 am to noon.
The three-paper re-examination follows the June 2026 UGC-NET examination, which was conducted between June 22 and June 30 across 87 subjects. UGC-NET determines eligibility for Junior Research Fellowship, Assistant Professor positions and admission to PhD programmes.
Multiple Errors Found
The decision to conduct a fresh examination came after NTA received several complaints about the English, Commerce and Sociology papers.
An expert committee constituted by the agency found misspelt names of prominent scholars, garbled book titles, errors in question wording, grammatical mistakes, punctuation issues and gender and number agreement errors.
The committee also identified translation problems and non-standard terms used for established concepts. A significant number of questions were found to have been repeated from previously conducted examinations.
NTA Says Fresh Test Necessary
NTA said the extent of the defects meant that the affected papers did not meet the required standards of a fair and error-free examination.
According to the agency, the problems could not be adequately resolved simply by removing defective questions during the answer-key challenge process. The committee therefore recommended that the three papers be conducted afresh.
The agency has maintained that the re-examination is intended to ensure fairness and accuracy for candidates who appeared in the affected subjects.
Delhi Candidates Face Travel Advisory
Candidates taking the re-examination in Delhi have also been advised to account for possible travel delays.
NTA issued a travel advisory warning of potential traffic and travel restrictions in the national capital on September 9 and 10. Candidates were asked to check their routes beforehand, leave early and allow sufficient time to reach their examination centres.
The advisory is particularly relevant as several major events and associated security arrangements are taking place in Delhi.
Results for 84 Subjects Unaffected
The re-examination of English, Commerce and Sociology is not expected to delay result processing for the other 84 subjects of the June UGC-NET examination.
NTA had already proceeded with the answer-key process for those subjects and said their results, JRF allocation and issuance of eligibility certificates would continue according to schedule.
The re-examination decision has, however, faced legal scrutiny. The Delhi High Court has sought a response from NTA and the Centre on a petition challenging the decision to re-conduct the English examination. The court has also directed authorities to take a decision on refunding the examination fee paid for the concerned examination.
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