2 weeks ago
NTA Defends ₹200 Answer-Key Fee, Orders Three-Subject Retest
The National Testing Agency, or NTA, lets students point out possible mistakes in exam answer keys.
Students must pay ₹200 for each question they challenge.
NTA says this charge helps stop people from making careless or unnecessary complaints.
If experts agree that a challenge is correct, the student gets the money back.
The corrected answer then applies to everyone who took that exam.
NTA also found many mistakes in the English, Commerce and Sociology papers.
Students in those subjects will take the exam again without paying another fee.
NTA says the retest will not reduce the number of students who can qualify.
NTA said the ₹200-per-question answer-key challenge fee discourages frivolous objections and is refunded when a challenge is upheld.
An accepted challenge can revise the answer key for every candidate who took the examination.
NTA ordered a retest for English, Commerce and Sociology after a committee found multiple errors in those papers.
The retest will require no additional fee and will not reduce qualifying numbers or subject-wise allocations.
The June 2026 UGC-NET examination was held from 22 to 30 June across 87 subjects, with provisional keys released for 84 subjects.
- Who
- The National Testing Agency, UGC-NET candidates, subject experts and student groups including NSUI, SFI and AISA.
- What
- NTA defended its ₹200-per-question answer-key challenge fee and ordered a retest for English, Commerce and Sociology.
- Where
- The examination concerns candidates in India, and the clarification was issued from New Delhi.
- When
- The UGC-NET June 2026 examination was held from 22 to 30 June; the provisional answer key and objection window opened on 16 August, and NTA issued its clarification on Thursday.
- Why
- NTA said the fee discourages frivolous challenges, while the retest was ordered after multiple errors were found in three question papers.
Candidate Concerns
NTA's Response
Answer-key challenge fee
Candidate Concerns
Candidates questioned whether paying ₹200 for every objection was too expensive.
NTA's Response
NTA said the fee discourages frivolous challenges, is refunded when a challenge is upheld and is not intended to profit from genuine objections.
Question-paper errors
Candidate Concerns
Student groups including NSUI, SFI and AISA criticized NTA's handling of competitive examinations after errors were reported in three papers.
NTA's Response
NTA ordered a retest and said it is strengthening question-setting, moderation, translation and composition procedures while examining responsibility for the lapses.
Effect of the retest
Candidate Concerns
Candidates may be concerned about repeating an examination because of errors in the original papers.
NTA's Response
NTA said the retest will be free and will not reduce the number of qualifying candidates or subject-wise allocations.
Key facts
- Examination
- UGC-NET June 2026
- Examination dates
- 22–30 June 2026
- Subjects covered
- 87 subjects
- Subjects with provisional keys
- 84 subjects
- Subjects requiring retest
- English, Commerce and Sociology
- Challenge fee
- ₹200 per question
- Refund rule
- The fee is refunded in full when subject experts uphold the challenge.
- Retest conditions
- No additional fee; qualifying numbers and subject-wise allocations will not be reduced.
Quotes
National Testing Agency
India’s autonomous agency responsible for conducting the UGC NET examination
“"The re‑test is being held at no additional fee, and the number of qualifying candidates and the subject‑wise allocations for those subjects will not be reduced on account of the re‑test," sources said.”
freepressjournal.in
“One challenge, everyone benefits. If even a single candidate challenges a question, and the subject experts accept the challenge, the revised answer key applies to every candidate who wrote the exam”
livemint.com
thehansindia.com
Sources
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