The National Testing Agency (NTA) has announced a fresh examination for three subjects under the UGC NET June 2026 cycle after an expert committee found significant errors in the question papers.
The affected subjects are English, Commerce and Sociology. The re-examination will be conducted on September 9 and 10, 2026.
The decision follows multiple complaints from candidates regarding errors in the papers, including incorrect names, grammatical mistakes, translation issues and repeated questions.
UGC NET 2026 retest schedule
NTA has released the following schedule for the three affected papers:
| Subject | Date | Shift | Timing |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | September 9, 2026 | Shift 1 | 9 AM–12 Noon |
| Commerce | September 9, 2026 | Shift 2 | 3 PM–6 PM |
| Sociology | September 10, 2026 | Shift 1 | 9 AM–12 Noon |
NTA said the examination city, centre details and admit cards will be communicated separately through its official website.
What errors were found in the UGC NET papers?
NTA constituted a committee after candidates raised concerns about the three question papers.
The committee identified multiple categories of errors, including:
- Misspelled names of prominent scholars
- Incorrect or distorted book titles
- Errors in question statements
- Grammar mistakes
- Gender and number agreement errors
- Punctuation mistakes
- Non-standard terms used for established concepts
- Repetition of a significant number of previously asked questions
- Translation-related errors
According to NTA, the extent of these problems meant that simply removing individual questions during the answer-key challenge process would not be sufficient to ensure a fair examination.
The committee therefore recommended conducting the three papers again.
Why did NTA cancel only three papers?
The UGC NET June 2026 examination was conducted between June 22 and June 30 across 87 subjects.
The issues identified by the committee were limited to the English, Commerce and Sociology papers. As a result, NTA has decided to proceed with the results of the other 84 subjects without waiting for the retest.
This means candidates who appeared for the remaining subjects will not be affected by the re-examination.
No additional fee for UGC NET retest
Candidates appearing for the English, Commerce and Sociology re-examinations will not have to pay another examination fee.
NTA will separately release information regarding examination centres, cities and admit cards.
Candidates affected by the retest have been advised to regularly check the official NTA website for updates.
Results for 84 UGC NET subjects to continue
The re-examination will not delay the result process for the remaining 84 subjects.
NTA said results for these subjects will be declared according to the existing schedule following the answer-key challenge process.
The allocation of Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) seats and the issuance of e-certificates for eligibility for Assistant Professor appointments and PhD admissions for candidates in these 84 subjects will also continue without being affected by the retest.
What happens next for English, Commerce and Sociology candidates?
Candidates who appeared for the three affected papers will have to sit for the examination again on the revised dates.
They should keep checking NTA's official notifications for:
- Admit cards
- Examination city information
- Examination centre details
- Further instructions
- Result and answer-key updates
The retest is intended to provide candidates with a fresh and standardised examination after the committee concluded that the original papers did not meet the required standards of accuracy and fairness.
Conversation
Be kind and stay on topic. Comments are moderated; abuse, spam and personal attacks are removed. Report a problem