UGC NET 2026: Sociology Paper Faces Backlash Over Alleged Mistakes and Confusing Language

The UGC NET Sociology question paper has come under scrutiny after candidates alleged that it contained spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, and poorly framed questions , raising concerns over the quality of one of India's most important eligibility examinations. Aspirants also questioned the relevance of certain questions and claimed that parts of the paper were outside the prescribed syllabus , while the National Testing Agency (NTA) is yet to respond to the allegations.

Candidates who appeared for the UGC NET Sociology examination on June 30 took to social media to express their dissatisfaction, claiming that the question paper was riddled with language errors that made several questions difficult to understand. Many alleged that the mistakes were not isolated but appeared throughout the paper, affecting their ability to interpret and answer questions within the allotted time.

One of the most widely shared reactions came from candidate Antara Chakrabarty , who described the paper as crossing "all limits of academic deceit and accountability." In a post on X, she claimed that nearly half of the questions contained spelling mistakes and grammatically incorrect sentence formations.

According to the allegations, the names of several renowned sociologists and academic terms were incorrectly printed. George Ritzer was allegedly written as "Putzer", the word "social" appeared as "oval", Talcott Parsons became "Parsow", G. S. Ghurye was printed as "Ghunye", A. R. Desai appeared as "A. K. Desai", and Martha Nussbaum was written as "Nusbaut", among other errors.

Candidates also alleged that the Hindi translation of the paper was poorly drafted, making several questions difficult to comprehend. Some claimed they spent a considerable portion of the examination trying to interpret confusing language rather than answering the questions themselves.

Apart from language related concerns, several aspirants questioned the academic quality of the examination. They alleged that some questions referred to thinkers and books that were not part of the prescribed syllabus . Some candidates even claimed that certain questions appeared to have been generated using artificial intelligence (AI) , although no evidence has been presented to support the allegation.

Another point of criticism was the inclusion of a question asking candidates to arrange former Education Ministers in chronological order. Some aspirants argued that such questions did not meaningfully assess sociological knowledge or the analytical skills expected from candidates appearing for a national eligibility examination.

Meanwhile, concerns were also raised over the UGC NET English paper. A candidate alleged that 67 out of the 150 questions were identical to those asked in the 2024 examination , with even the sequence of answer options reportedly remaining unchanged. The claim has sparked fresh debate over the quality and integrity of the examination process.

Despite the growing criticism on social media, the National Testing Agency (NTA) had not issued any official response to the allegations at the time of publication.

The UGC NET is conducted to determine eligibility for the post of Assistant Professor and admission to PhD programmes across the country. The examination comprises Paper I , which tests teaching aptitude, reasoning ability and general awareness through 50 questions, and Paper II , which contains 100 subject specific multiple choice questions.

As concerns continue to grow among aspirants, attention is now on the NTA to address the allegations and reassure candidates about the credibility and fairness of one of India's most important higher education examinations.