The National Testing Agency (NTA) has come under criticism after candidates appearing for the University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC NET) 2026 alleged serious issues with the quality of question papers in both the Sociology and English subjects. Examinees claimed that the Sociology paper conducted on June 30 contained numerous spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and poorly framed questions, while candidates and academicians also pointed out that a significant number of questions in the English paper were identical to those asked in the 2024 examination. At the time of reporting, the NTA had not issued any official response to the allegations.
Several candidates took to social media to express their concerns over the Sociology paper, questioning the quality of the examination and the standards maintained during the paper-setting process. One candidate alleged that the examination paper contained extensive spelling mistakes, incorrect names of prominent sociologists and poorly constructed sentences that made several questions difficult to comprehend. According to the candidate, errors reportedly included misspelled names of well-known scholars such as George Ritzer, Talcott Parsons, GS Ghurye, AR Desai and Martha Nussbaum. The candidate further claimed that common academic terms were also incorrectly written, creating confusion during the examination.
Candidates also criticised the quality of the Hindi translation provided in the question paper, alleging that several translated questions were unclear and grammatically inaccurate. According to their claims, the poor translation made it difficult to understand the intended meaning of the questions, forcing candidates to spend valuable examination time interpreting the language rather than answering the questions.
Apart from linguistic and typographical errors, candidates questioned the academic relevance of certain questions included in the Sociology paper. Some alleged that several questions appeared to be outside the prescribed syllabus and referred to unfamiliar thinkers and books. Others expressed concern over what they described as randomly framed or AI-generated questions that did not adequately assess subject knowledge. One candidate also criticised the inclusion of a question asking candidates to arrange former Union education ministers in chronological order, arguing that such a question had little relevance to evaluating sociological understanding or research aptitude.
Concerns were not limited to the Sociology paper. Candidates appearing for the English examination alleged that 67 out of the total 150 multiple-choice questions were identical to those asked in the 2024 UGC NET examination. According to the claims, all of the repeated questions were part of Paper II, which evaluates subject-specific knowledge. Candidates further alleged that not only were the questions repeated, but even the sequence of the answer options remained unchanged, raising questions about the originality and quality of the examination paper.
Academicians also expressed concern over the reported repetition of questions. Some attributed the issue to shortcomings in the paper-setting process and suggested that inadequate quality checks may have allowed previously used questions to be included in the examination.
The UGC NET serves as a national-level eligibility examination for determining candidates' suitability for the post of Assistant Professor and admission to PhD programmes in universities and higher educational institutions across India.
As discussions continue among students and academicians, aspirants are awaiting an official clarification from the National Testing Agency regarding the concerns raised over the UGC NET 2026 examination papers.