Various examinations and tests are conducted over the year for various streams and fields. There are your NEET exams, the UPSC exams, the CAT exams, and much more. Among these, there’s one name that is familiar to the people who want to go into the teaching line or being a professor. It’s the UGC NET exam. The exam is also known as the UGC National Eligibility Test (NET) and is carried out for the eligibility to determine the post of assistant professor and more. Here’s us taking a look at the UGC NET exam down below. Read along.
What is the UGC NET Exam?
UGC NET examination as we talked about above is about the University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test. The exam is conducted by the National Testing Agency who acts under the guidance and the behalf of UGC or the University Grants Commission. The exam is conducted to determine the eligibility of the candidate for the role of assistant professor or junior research fellowship or both for Indian universities and colleges. The exam was previously conducted by the authority of CBSE who also carry out the Grade XII CBSE exams. However, now the rights rest on NTA or National Testing Agency.
The exams are conducted twice a year and have seen the number of students rise every year on year. The test also acts as a mandate for eligibility into the private college-based lectureship jobs and for the public sector undertakings. The area is expanding quite a lot and UGC NET has become one of the major exams across India. It also forms the basis for the recruitment of executives in various fields like management, human resource, finance, corporate communications, and more for the PSU recruitment drive.
Eligibility for UGC NET Exam
UGC NET exams have criteria when it comes to the eligibility of the candidates. This is done to promote the right and qualified people into applying and getting the opportunity. The UGC NET exams have various set rules for eligibility which we’ll list down for a better view:
- Candidates should have a minimum qualification mark of 55% in their master’s program if they belong to the general category. If the students belong to the other category then they can have a minimum mark of 50%.
- The candidate should have cleared their State Eligibility Test (SET) before 1st June 2002 then they can be exempt from the UGC NET exam.
UGC NET Exam Syllabus
The UGC NET exam has two papers in form of Paper-I and Paper-II. Both of these papers consist of MCQs and have a total duration of 3 hours to complete both the papers. The first paper has a total of 50 questions for total marks of 100 and the second paper has 100 questions for total marks of 200. Overall, the papers consist of 150 questions for a total of 300 marks.
The syllabus for the two papers is different as the first paper focuses on the aspect of teaching and research aptitude. It comes with aspects like teaching concepts, evaluation system, methods of learning, research, methods of research, comprehension, communication, mathematical reasoning and aptitude, logical reasoning, data interpretation, and more. The paper is divided into various units of which each unit talks about a different chapter and course. The first paper is compulsory for the students. There are ten units in the first paper in total. Here are the units of the first paper:
- Teaching Aptitude
- Research Aptitude
- Comprehension
- Communication
- Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude
- Logical Reasoning
- Data Interpretation
- Information and Communication Technology
- People, Development and Environment
- Higher Education System
When it comes to the second paper, the students get a chance to choose the subject of their desire. There are over 81 subjects. Students can choose their subject and prepare for it. The results for the UGC NET exams come with a minimum qualifying mark of 40% for the general category and 35% for the candidate belonging to the SC/ST/OBC/PwD/Transgender.
Age Limit for UGC NET Exams
The UGC NET exams also have an age limit in certain cases. This age limit is also part of the eligibility criteria and a student needs to be in this age group to gain entry into the course. Here are the age limit criteria:
- Candidates should not have an age of more than 31 years for the position of Junior Research Fellowship.
- Candidates belonging to the category of OBC/SC/ST/PwD/Transgender can avail of age relaxation of up to 5 years.
- Candidates who have completed their L.L.M degree can get a relaxation of 3 years in age limit.
- Candidates who have joined and served the armed forces are provided with an age relaxation of 5 years.
- There are no set age restrictions for the post of Assistant Professor under the UGC NET exams.
Fees for UGC NET Exams
As is the case with all the entrance and qualifying exams in India, UGC NET exams also have a designated application fee for the same. These application fees enable the students to enroll themselves for the test and appear for it. The fees are divided based on the category of the candidate. Here’s a detailed view of the fee structure mentioned down below:
- For General Category- INR 1000
- For OBC/EWS- INR 500
- For SC/ST/PwD/Transgender- INR 200
The registration process of UGC NET Exams
A candidate becomes eligible to appear in the tests only when they register for the application form. The registration process of the UGC NET exams is pretty simple and can be done easily. We’ll mention the steps down below. But before that here’s a list of documents that you need to keep with you while registering:
- Required Documents
- Board certificate or university certificate
- ID proof (Ration Card/Aadhar Card/Voter ID/Passport Number)
- Copy of qualifying degree certificate
- Certificate of category (only if applicable)
- Category of Economically Weaker Section (only if applicable)
- PwD certificate(only if applicable)
- Scanned copy of the passport size photo and signature
- Copy of Address proof
Once you have collected all the required documents with you then you can start registering as:
- Step 1: Register yourself
For this, you will have to open the website of the UGC NET. Once you open the website then you can click on the application form for the term period you want. Then once you click on it, a new page will open with the option of New Registration. Click on it and then register yourself by filling in the details.
- Step 2: Fill the application form
Once you have registered yourself then you can login to the website and click on the fill the application form. This option will give you the chance to fill your candidate form for the term. There fill in the required details like subjects and then select the centers of your choice. You have an option to select up to 4 centers for tests.
- Step 3: Submit the form and scanned copy of the documents
Once you have filled the application form then the next step is to submit the form along with the scanned copies of the documents like a signature, photo, and other academic and degree certificates. Upload the files and click on the submit button.
- Step 4: Make the payment for the application
The last step is to make the payment for the application form. Once you have submitted the form and uploaded the scanned copies then you should pay the desired amount of fees as per your category. You can simply make the payment via any online payment mode.
Rahul Kumar is a passionate educator, writer, and subject matter expert in the field of education and professional development. As an author on CoursesXpert, Rahul Kumar’s articles cover a wide range of topics, from various courses, educational and career guidance.
