UGC NET Exam Pattern & Syllabus
Last verified 01 Aug 2026
The UGC NET exam pattern is set out below. No. There is no negative marking for an incorrect response in either paper.
| Section | Questions | Marks |
|---|---|---|
| Paper I — Teaching and Research Aptitude | 50 | 100 |
| Paper II — Subject selected by the candidate | 100 | 200 |
| Total | 150 | 300 |
All questions are objective multiple choice. No. There is no negative marking for an incorrect response in either paper.
Standard of the questions
Child Development and Pedagogy focuses on the educational psychology of teaching and learning for the relevant age group — 6 to 11 years for Paper I — covering the characteristics and needs of diverse learners, interaction with learners, and the attributes of a good facilitator of learning.
Language I tests proficiency in the medium of instruction. Language II tests the elements of language, communication and comprehension. Language II must be different from Language I, and both are chosen at the application stage from the 27 available languages.
Mathematics, Environmental Studies and the Paper II subject sections test concepts, problem solving and pedagogical understanding. Questions are evenly distributed across the divisions of the NCERT syllabus for the relevant classes — classes I to V for Paper I, classes VI to VIII for Paper II — though the difficulty and linkages may go up to the senior secondary stage.
The 27 languages
English, Hindi, Assamese, Bengali, Garo, Gujarati, Kannada, Khasi, Malayalam, Manipuri, Marathi, Mizo, Nepali, Odia, Punjabi, Sanskrit, Tamil, Telugu, Tibetan, Urdu, Bodo, Dogri, Kashmiri, Konkani, Maithili, Santhali and Sindhi.