UGC-NET Re-Exam 2026: Re-examination of 3 subjects will be held on 9th and 10th September; Big decision of NTA, candidates will not have to fill new form, new admit cards will be issued.

The National Testing Agency (NTA) has taken a very big and important official decision for lakhs of candidates preparing for the University Grants Commission’s National Eligibility Test i.e. UGC-NET. After investigating the serious factual, translation and printing errors found in the question papers during the June 2026 session examination, NTA has announced to conduct re-exam of the three biggest subjects – English, Commerce and Sociology. As per the official notification, this re-exam will be conducted on 9th and 10th September 2026 in Computer Based Test (CBT Mode) at the designated examination centers across the country. Giving great relief to the candidates, the agency has clarified that to appear in the examination again, the candidates will neither have to fill any new application form nor will have to pay any additional examination fees.

Subject-wise and shift-wise complete schedule of UGC-NET re-exam

As per the official time-table released by the National Testing Agency (NTA), the restructured examinations of all three subjects will be conducted in three different shifts over two days:

• English (English – Subject Code 30): On 9th September 2026 in the first shift (Shift 1) from 09:00 am to 12:00 noon.

• Commerce (Commerce – Subject Code 08): On 9 September 2026 in the second shift (Shift 2) from 03:00 PM to 06:00 PM.

• Sociology (Sociology – Subject Code 05): On 10 September 2026 in the first shift (Shift 1) from 09:00 am to 12:00 noon.

Each examination session will be of 3 hours (180 minutes) with a total of 150 Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) to be solved from Paper-1 (General Teaching and Research Aptitude) and Paper-2 (Relevant Subjects) without any break.

67 questions repeated exactly and wrong names of thinkers: Why was the decision of re-exam taken?

For the first time, discrepancies on such a large scale have come to light regarding the quality of question papers in the country’s prestigious national level examination like UGC NET, after which students and teachers unions had expressed strong protest from social media to the streets. After the controversy deepened, NTA had constituted a high level independent inquiry committee of subject experts.

The shocking revelations in the report of the inquiry committee exposed the negligence of the examination system:

• 67 questions repeated in English paper: Investigation found that out of total 100 subject-specific questions in Paper-2 of English subject, 67 questions were taken exactly from the old question paper of year 2024 without any change. Even the order of the four options (A, B, C, D) was not changed.

• Ridiculous mistakes in the names of thinkers in sociology: A terrible spelling mistake was made in the Sociology paper of the names of established global and Indian sociologists. The name of famous sociologist George Ritzer was printed as ‘Putzer’. G.S., who is called the father of Indian sociology. The name of Ghurye (GS Ghurye) is ‘Ghunye’ and A.R. Desai’s name was written as ‘AK Desai’. Apart from this, the name of philosopher Martha Nussbaum was changed to ‘Nusbaut’ and the name of Talcott Parsons was changed to ‘Parsow’.

• Huge translation and grammar errors: In the Hindi translation, like Google translator, the word ‘Social’ was translated into a meaningless word like ‘Oval’.

The inquiry committee clearly stated in its report that mere dropping of some questions by registering objections cannot ensure fair merit determination, as it would be a grave injustice to the meritorious students. Therefore, to maintain the purity, transparency and credibility of the examination, the only fair option was to completely cancel the examination of all three subjects and conduct it afresh.

Candidates will not have to fill the new form: Know who will be able to participate?

NTA has issued clear guidelines clearing all the doubts of the candidates in this regard:

• Only old registration will remain valid: The same old application number of the candidates who had previously successfully applied online for the June 2026 session and deposited the examination fee, will remain valid. They do not need to go to any new portal and re-register.

• Zero additional charges: No separate or additional fee will be charged from any student appearing for re-examination.

• Rules regarding attendance: All those candidates who appeared for the examination on the basis of admit card issued earlier will automatically be eligible for this re-examination.

Old admit card will not work: NTA will issue new hall tickets

The most important thing for the candidates is that the old admit card of the original exam held in June will not be valid for this re-exam. A completely new admit card will be released on the official website of NTA with new date of examination, new examination center and revised shift timings.

• Exam City Intimation Slip: Advance information slip of their examination city will be issued to the candidates about 7 to 10 days before the examination (last week of August), so that students from remote areas can make their travel and train reservations in time.

• Admit Card Release Date: New admit cards will be made live on the official portal 4 days before the exam date.

• Download Method: Candidates Official Website of NTA ugcnet.nta.nic.in You will be able to download your new admit card PDF by going to and entering your old application number, date of birth and security pin.

4 mandatory documents and strict security rules to carry to the exam center

While appearing at the examination center on 9th and 10th September, candidates will have to take special care of the following things:

1. Clear printout of new admit card: Colored or clear black and white printout of the downloaded fresh admit card on A4 size white paper.

2. Original and valid photo identity card: Original ID any one of Aadhaar Card (Original/e-Aadhaar), PAN Card, Voter ID, Passport or Driving License is mandatory (Photocopy or mobile photo will not be accepted).

3. Passport size photograph: The same color photograph which was uploaded while filling the online application form has to be carried along to be pasted on the Attendance Sheet.

4. Transparent Pen and Water Bottle: An ordinary transparent ballpoint pen and a transparent water bottle will be allowed to be carried. Any type of electronic gadgets, smart watches, Bluetooth devices, bags or notes will be strictly prohibited inside the examination hall.

There will be equal opportunity again in the race for JRF and Assistant Professor

The decision of this re-exam has been welcomed by the academic world and researchers across the country. There is competition for one point each for Professorship and Junior Research Fellowship (JRF). Serious and hard-working students, whose morale was demoralized due to wrong translation and out-of-syllabus or repeated questions, will now get a fair and transparent platform to prove their actual merit. Experts suggest that candidates should not pay attention to any misleading rumors now and speed up their revision for the re-exam of September 9-10.