UGC NET 2026: Candidates flag spelling errors in Sociology paper, recycled questions in English; Opposition reacts

What are the discrepancies flagged by candidates?

Candidates who appeared for the Sociology paper on June 30 alleged that the question paper contained numerous spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and poorly framed questions. Several candidates took to social media to share examples of what they described as serious inaccuracies in the paper.

Among the examples cited were sociologist George Ritzer allegedly appearing as “Putzer”, the word “social” being printed as “oval”, Talcott Parsons written as “Parsow”, noted Indian sociologist G S Ghurye appearing as “Ghunye”, sociologist A R Desai allegedly written as “A K Desai”, and philosopher Martha Nussbaum appearing as “Nusbaut”.

Candidates argued that such errors made it difficult to understand questions and affected the overall quality of the examination. Some also alleged that several questions appeared to be outside the prescribed syllabus and that the Hindi translations of questions were poorly worded, making them difficult to interpret.

One candidate claimed that a significant portion of the paper contained spelling and language errors. Others questioned the inclusion of topics they felt were not central to the syllabus, including a question asking candidates to arrange former education ministers in chronological order.

Why are candidates concerned about the English paper?

Separate concerns have been raised regarding the UGC NET English paper. According to candidates, a large number of questions were allegedly repeated from the 2024 examination.

One candidate claimed that 67 of the 150 questions in the English paper were identical to questions asked in the previous year’s examination. The candidate further alleged that even the sequence of answer options remained unchanged. These claims have raised concerns among aspirants about question paper quality and examination integrity.

However, the NTA has not issued a response to these specific allegations so far.

Has the NTA commented?

As of now, there has been no official response from the National Testing Agency regarding the allegations related to either the Sociology or the English papers. It also remains unclear whether candidates will be provided an opportunity to formally challenge any of the disputed questions through the answer key objection process.

Typically, after UGC NET examinations conclude, the NTA releases provisional answer keys and recorded responses, allowing candidates to raise objections against questions they believe are incorrect or ambiguous. Subject experts then review the challenges before the final answer key and results are declared.

Why has the issue become political?

The controversy gained political attention after Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh criticised the government and the NTA over the reported issues.

Referring to the conduct of national-level examinations, Ramesh alleged that the NTA’s performance continues to be poor despite promises of reforms. He claimed that questions in the English paper were lifted from previous examinations and alleged that the Sociology paper was filled with spelling, translation, and grammatical mistakes.

The Congress leader also criticised Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, arguing that the alleged problems reflected failures in the examination system under his tenure.