Candidates seeking to challenge any discrepancies in the answer key must pay a non-refundable fee of Rs 200 per question through multiple payment modes such as credit card, debit card, net banking, or UPI. The NTA emphasises that no objections will be entertained without payment, and submissions made through any other mode will not be accepted.
Widespread student protests over fees and errors
While the extension of the objection window offers some relief, many students have expressed frustration and dissatisfaction with the quality of the provisional answer key. Particularly, the History paper of the UGC NET 2024 (rescheduled) has drawn severe criticism, with reports suggesting that over 60 answers in the answer key are incorrect. This has left students questioning the reliability of the exam’s evaluation process.
The fee structure for raising objections has also been a major point of contention. With a non-refundable fee of Rs 200 per question, students facing numerous errors in their answer keys are finding the financial burden overwhelming. For instance, a candidate who wishes to challenge 60 questions in the History paper would need to pay a total of Rs 12,000—a considerable amount for many aspirants. This situation has led to widespread protests on social media platforms, with many labeling the system as exploitative. One user on X posted, “#UGC_NET history answer key’s 80% answers are wrong. It’s totally useless. Soo pathetic condition of UGC NET; even they can’t make a correct answer key. Now they will charge for every question—Rs 200 per question x 70 questions = Rs 14,000.”
Concerns over the exam’s relevance
Aside from the errors and high fees, many candidates have raised concerns about the relevance and fairness of the questions in the UGC NET June 2024 exam. Students from various subject areas have taken to social media to voice their discontent, claiming that some questions were either poorly framed or irrelevant to the subject matter. For instance, a candidate from the English paper noted that many of the questions focused solely on chronology, which they felt did little to assess their research or teaching abilities. “We got a total of 13 questions in paper 2 of the UGC NET English exam that were simply chronology questions. Will NTA explain how this pointless exercise of cramming dates will test anyone’s ability to pursue research or teach?” the candidate wrote on X.
Similarly, a management aspirant expressed dissatisfaction over basic errors in the provisional answer key. Referring to a question on value chain analysis, the candidate stated that the provisional answer was incorrect, adding, “Is this answer key challenge a scam? The provisional answer to a basic value chain analysis question is wrong. To challenge this, I need to pay Rs 200 per question, which is non-refundable. Exam.”
Is there a refund in the answer key review process?
According to the NTA, candidates’ objections will be reviewed by a panel of subject experts. If an objection is found to be valid, the agency will revise the answer key accordingly. However, candidates will not receive individual notifications regarding the acceptance or rejection of their challenges. Instead, the final revised answer key will serve as the basis for the results, and no further challenges will be entertained after its release.
The NTA has conducted the UGC NET June 2024 (rescheduled) examination in Computer-Based Test (CBT) mode across multiple shifts and locations. The provisional answer keys, along with the question papers and recorded responses, were made available on the official website for candidates to review and challenge. However, the errors and high costs associated with challenging the answer key have cast a shadow over the credibility of the examination process.