UGC-NET pattern is likely to change

[KIRANKUMAR HANUMANTHU]

The University Grants Commission is likely to amend the Exam Pattern for UGC­NET from
next June, said Prof DN Reddy, a UGC member, during a UGC regional consultation on
review of NET examination pattern organized at Osmania University by UGC’s Southern
Eastern Regional Office (SERO).

During the consultations, Prof. Reddy said that the faculty and students have pointed out
an incongruity in the current NET examination pattern. The UGC conducts the exam in
objective pattern without negative marking and testing subjects in paper­II and Paper­III
out of three papers.
While explaining the impact of negative marking, Prof. Reddy revealed that the number of
candidates qualifying the NET examination has got doubled ever since the negative
marking pattern has been removed from UGC­NET. The percentage of candidates
clearing the NET has been increased from 5 to 10 per cent.
The UGC have been conducting a similar kind of review committee consultation across
the nation where the opinions are taken on the scheme of examination, subject, syllabus,
developing question banks, evaluation process, eligibility criteria, organizational issues
and research and development.
Eliciting his outlook on the current NET examination pattern, Andhra Pradesh State
Council of Higher Education (APSCHE) chairman Prof P Jayaprakasha Rao asked the
UGC to conduct two separate exams – for awarding Lectureship and Junior Research
Fellowships.
The APSCHE chairman further opined that the UGC­NET exam paper should include
various types of questions like a few short answer questions and at least a couple of
essay type questions along with the multiple choice questions.