UGC NET 2021 – National Testing Agency (NTA) has postponed the UGC NET 2021 which was earlier scheduled from May 02 to 17, 2021 owing to the recent spike in COVID-19 cases. The fresh dates for UGC NET 2021 will be announced later at the official website, ugcnet.nta.nic.in and at least 15 days before the examination. The application process of UGC NET 2021 was started from February 02, 2021 to March 09, 2021. Aspirants looking for a career as Assistant Professor or JRF & Assistant Professor must qualify for the UGC NET exam and obtain the NET certificate. The UGC NET exam takes place twice a year. Get the latest updates of UGC NET 2021 in this article,
Latest: UGC NET 2021 exam has been postponed till futher notice. Scroll down to check more details.
UGC NET 2021
The UGC NET Dec 2020 Exam is taking place as UGC NET May 2021. Candidates clearing the UGC NET successfully, become eligible to be Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and to apply for Assistant Professor. These candidates can apply for the said post in government colleges and universities. Get the important dates for UGC NET 2021 from the table below:
| UGC NET | Important Dates |
| Start of the application form | 02 Feb 2021 |
| Last date to apply | |
| Correction in Particulars of Application Form | 12 to 16 Mar 2021 |
| Last date to pay the fees | |
| Downloading admit card | To be Announced |
| UGC NET exam date | 14 & 17 May 2021 To be announced |
| Release of final answer key | To be announced |
| Declaration of result | Second week of June 2021 |
| E-certificate | To be announced |
Quick Links
What is UGC NET?
University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC NET) is a national level eligibility test. UGC NET is conducted by National Testing Agency (NTA). NTA conducts this examination to select eligible candidates as Assistant Professor and/or Junior Research Fellowship (JRF). NET qualification is mandatory to apply for universities and government colleges. It is considered as one of the toughest examinations of India as the success ratio remains 6%. Earlier, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) used to conduct UGC NET. From December 2018 onwards, the responsibility to conduct UGC NET examination was passed on to NTA.
UGC NET May 2021 Exam Postponed Notice
Looking at the present situation of the COVID-19 pandemic and also taking account of the safety and well-being of the candidates, the NTA has decided to postponed the UGC NET 2021 examination. Check the official notice below.
UGC NET May 2021 Notification
Applicants can check the UGC NET 2021 notification below.
UGC NET 2021 Exam Date
As wen know, National Testing Agency conducts the UGC NET exam twice every year. However, this year due to unforeseen event of COVID-19, the June 2020 Exam was postponed to September 2020. It was rescheduled to November 2020 to cover all subjects. Earlier, the December 2020 exam was scheduled for March/ April 2021. check the same below. Albeit, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (Union Cabinet Minister for Education) recently announced UGC NET Dates. UGC NET Dec 2020 Exam (May 2021) will place from May 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 14 & 17, 2021.
Notice as tweeted by Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank (Union Cabinet Minister for Education)
Check the old announcement below.
UGC NET 2021 Eligibility Criteria
Before beginning with UGC NET application procedure, refer to the UGC NET eligibility criteria 2021.
Educational qualification
- Candidates from General category, who have a Master’s degree or its equivalent with a minimum of 55% marks can apply. Candidates from Non-Creamy Layer/Scheduled Caste (SC)/Scheduled Tribe (ST)/Persons with Disability (PwD)/Transgender category, need 50% marks.
- Applicants pursuing a master’s degree or whose result is still awaited are also eligible to apply.
Age limit
- For Assistant Professor, there is no required age limit.
- For JRF, candidate must not exceed the age limit of 31 years.
UGC NET 2021 Application Form
NTA release UGC NET application form 2021 on the official website. Candidates have to go to the official website, ugcnet.nta.nic.in to do the NET Registration and to apply online for UGC NET 2021. Get the process to submit UGC NET 2021 application below:
How to apply?
- Go to the official website of UGC NET, ugcnet.nta.nic.in.
- Click on the ‘Fill online Application form‘, to fill the UGC NET application
- After this, the candidate has to fill the UGC NET registration 2021 form.
- Click on the proceed button to fill UGC NET application form.
- Enter all the details asked in UGC NET 2021 application form.
- Proceed to upload the scanned images of photograph and signature.
- Now, pay the required application fee for UGC NET.
- Do not forget to take a print out the confirmation page after successful payment.
Application fee
Application fee to apply for UGC NET is as follows:
| Category | Application Fee |
| General/Unreserved | Rs.1000/- |
| Gen-EWS/ OBC-NCL | Rs.500/- |
| SC/ST/PwD/ Transgender | Rs.250/- |
Mode of payment
- Candidates can pay UGC NET 2021 application fee only through online mode.
- Applicants may use a debit card/credit card, net banking/paytm.
How to prepare for UGC NET 2021?
Candidates can start preparing for UGC NET Exam. Here we provide some quick tips, that will help the candidates in their preparation:
- Accuracy and Speed: There will be 300 questions in UGC NET examination. It is important for candidates to build their speed and accuracy for the examination.
- Preparing with syllabus: It is crucial for aspirants to start the preparation of UGC NET exam by focussing on the syllabus. Importance should be given to the topics that are mentioned in the syllabus.
- Practice daily: Practise by solving the mock tests regularly for 03 hours (one sitting), as the examination is conducted for 03 hours. With regular practice, aspirants can build their speed to attempt maximum questions in set duration.
- Start Preparation on time: Now that the examination dates for UGC NET is out, candidates should not wait to begin their preparation. Prepare a time table now and ensure to abide by that.
Important: Click Here to get the UGC NET Syllabus PDF.
UGC NET Preparation Strategy by Aglasem
How to prepare for UGC NET 2021
Crack UGC NET Exam with Self-Preparation by Delhi Knowledge Track
UGC NET Books Referred by Toppers
Although a wide variety of learning materials including textbooks, guides, solved paper etc. are available commercially, those who topped the exam in the previous years have their own preference for books. We have compiled a list of easily available titles preferred by UGC NET toppers. Refer to the books provided below to start the preparation for UGC NET 2021.
| UGC NET Paper 1 – 32 Solved Papers (2019 to 2004) 2nd Edition | Click here |
| NTA UGC – NET/SET/JRF Paper I – Teaching and Research Aptitude | Includes 2019 Paper | Click here |
| NTA UGC NET/SET/ JRF Paper 1 | Previous Years’ Solved Question Papers (2012-2019) | Click here |
| NTA UGC – NET/SET/ JRF Paper I – Sikshan Evam Shodh Abhiyogita | Includes 2019 Paper (In Hindi) | Click here |
| UGC NET ENGLISH PAPER 2 | Click here |
Important: Click Here to Practice Mock Tests for UGC NET Exam.
UGC NET 2021 Exam Pattern
Check the examination pattern for UGC NET 2021 is provided below:
- Mode of examination: Computer based test
- Duration of examination: 03 hours (There is no break between paper 1 and paper 2)
- Type of questions: Objective questions
- Number of papers: 02 papers
- Number of questions: 150 questions
- Maximum marks: 300 marks
- Marking scheme:
| For correct answer | +2 marks |
| For incorrect answer | No negative marking |
Important: Click Here to get the UGC NET 2021 Exam Pattern.
- Distribution of questions:
| Paper | Marks | Questions |
| Paper 1 | 100 | 50 |
| Paper 2 | 200 | 100 |
Previous Year Question Papers of UGC NET Exam
Previous year question papers helps candidates to get an idea about the difficulty level of the exmaination. To get previous year question papers of UGC NET from 2009 to 2019, just click on the direct link provided below:
Important: Click here to get UGC NET previous year question papers
UGC NET Admit Card 2021
After the process of UGC NET 2021 registration and application form is over, candidates can get their UGC NET admit card online. To download UGC NET admit card, candidates have to visit the official website ntanet.nic.in. Know more about UGC NET admit card 2021 below:
- Candidates have to download admit card through login. Use the application number and password to login for UGC NET admit card.
- It is important for candidates to carry a print of admit card with them to the centre. With this, carry one passport size photograph and photo identity proof.
- Through hall ticket, candidates get to know about their UGC NET exam date 2021, shift timings, important instructions for the examination.
Exam Day Guidelines For UGC NET 2021
Successful applicants of the UGC NET 2021 exam are issued admit cards to appear in the exam as per schedule. On the admit card, specific instructions to be followed at the centre and exam hall on the exam day are printed. In addition, some guidelines have already been specified by the NTA to be followed on the exam day.
- Candidates must appear for the test at the designated exam centre only.
- Entry to the exam centre is closed 1 hour before the exam while entry to the exam hall is closed 30 minutes before the exam. Candidates must report to the centre at least 02 hours before the exam starts.
- Candidates must have on them the admit card for the UGC NET 2021 exam. The admit card must be carried in the printed format and produced as necessary.
- In addition to the admit card, one must also carry one identical passport sized photograph for pasting in the attendance sheet.
- Candidates must also carry a photo identity card for the verification of identity.
- One must not carry any baggage inside the exam hall.
- Items like textual materials, calculators, DocuPen, slide rules, log table, electronic watches or other communication devices including smartphones are not allowed inside the exam hall.
- Candidates are not allowed to leave their seats once the exam starts until the entire duration of the exam is completed.
- Rough sheets must be handed over to the invigilator before leaving the exam hall.
- Candidates are not allowed to carry any eatables or other beverages inside the exam hall.
- One must refrain from using unfair means strictly during the exam
- In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, candidates are advised to wear masks and maintain social distancing at the exam centre.
UGC NET Cut Offs
After the commencement of the examination, NTA releases cut off marks for each post – ‘Assistant Professor or JRF and Assitant Professor’. Cut off marks are released for each subject and each category of UGC NET 2021. Given below are the minimum qualifying marks required to clear Paper 1 and Paper 2.
| Paper and Cut Off marks | General | OBC-NCL / PWD / SC / ST |
| Paper I | 40 (40%) | 35 (35%) |
| Paper II | 40 (40%) | 35 (35%) |
Important: Click here to know about the UGC NET Cut Offs
UGC NET 2021 Answer Key
Once the UGC NET 2021 exam is over, NTA releases the answer keys on their official website. Candidates can check their tentative score by using these UGC NET answer key. Candidates are allowed to raise the objection against the answer keys of UGC NET 2021, by paying a certain amount. Here is the formula to calculate the answer by using the answer keys:
Formula to Calculate the marks of UGC NET Paper-1 = Number of correct answers in paper 1 x 2 marks
Formula to Calculate the marks of UGC NET Paper-2 = Number of correct answers in paper 2 x 2 marks
UGC NET 2021 Selection Process
Candidates appearing in the UGC NET 2021 exam are eligible to be awarded the UGC NET certificate if they qualify the test as per the conditions laid down by the NTA. Candidates have to secure the minimum qualifying marks to be considered for selection. However, merely securing the minimum qualifying marks does not entitle that the candidate is selected for award of the passing certificate.
UGC NET 2021 Minimum Qualifying Marks
| Category | Min. Marks |
| General | 40% |
| Others | 35% |
Out of the total number of candidates who appear for both the papers, top 6% of the qualifiers are to be shortlisted for Assistant Professor. Candidates must appear in both the papers and qualify by securing the minimum marks to be considered for “JRF and Eligibility for Assistant Professor” and “Assistant Professor“.
The total number of candidates to be shortlisted in any subject for a particular category is decided as per the following methodology.
Candidates who apply for “Eligibility for JRF & Eligibility for Assistant Professor both” out of the total number of candidates as per the aforementioned rules will be considered for JRF.
Check out the method of selection for subject wise cum category-wise allocation of JRF slots below.
About NTA
National Testing Agency (NTA) is an Indian agency that holds the responsibility to conduct entrance examinations. NTA was established in November 2017 by the Union Council of Ministers. Vineet Joshi served as the first director-general of the agency. Examinations that are conducted by NTA are as follows – Joint entrance examination (JEE Main), National Eligibility Test (NET), Common Management Admission test, National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET).
Important Downloads
| Website | ugcnet.nta.nic.in |
| Notification | Click here |
| English Notice | Click here |
| Hindi Notice | Click here |
Archives
Important dates for UGC NET June 2020
| UGC NET 2020 | Important Dates |
| Start of the application form | 16 May 2020 |
| Last date to apply | |
| Correction in Particulars of Application Form | 06 Jul – |
| Downloading admit card | 19 Sep 2020 onwards |
| UGC NET exam date 2020 | 24, 25, 29, 30 Sep 2020 01, 09, 17 Oct 2020 04, 05, 11, 12, 13 Nov 2020 |
| Release of answer key for exam 24 Sep to 17 Oct | 05 Nov 2020 |
| Release of answer key for exam 04 Nov to 13 Nov | 05 Nov – 07 Nov 2020 |
| Release of final answer key | 30 Nov 2020 |
| Declaration of result | 01 Dec 2020 |
| E-certificate | 10 Dec 2020 |
Check the previous year information for UGC NET from the links below:
FAQs
Ans: Candidates must have a Master’s degree to apply for UGC NET. Also, applicants must have passed Master’s degree with a minimum of 55% marks.
Ans: No. NTA conducts UGC NET through online mode. Candidates have to answer objective questions for UGC NET.
Ans: Those candidates who qualify UGC NET assistant professor are awarded with e-certificate. This electronic certificate does not have any limited validity.
Ans. No. NTA does not deduct any marks for incorrect answers.
Ans : Candidates have to secure a minimum of 40% marks to qualify UGC NET.
