University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC NET) is basically a national-level examination that has been conducted by newly formulated body i.e., National Testing Agency via online CBT mode. This entrance exam is held two times every year for selecting candidates for only Assistant Professor or both Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Assistant Professor in the Indian universities and colleges. UGC NET exam is organized in total two sessions i.e., June and December session. For UGC NET 2020, new changes have been made by HRD Ministry and NTA is now going to conduct the entrance test for this year session.
UGC NET 2020: Application Form
The Application form of UGC NET 2020 was released on 16th March 2020 and the last date for applying for the application form was 30th June 2020. By filling and submitting the application form will successfully complete the registration process as well. In the application form, candidate’s personal information and education details are asked and at the end, the applicant has to attach their photograph and signature along with it. The registration process will only be successfully completed after the payment is done online.
Eligibility Criteria
There are some basic criteria that the candidates applying for UGC NET 2020 must fulfil such as candidates in their post-graduation must have secured at least 55% aggregate marks. There is no limitation in age for applying to the post of Assistant Professor, however, 30 years in age is limited for JRF. All the candidates who have qualified State Eligibility Test (SET) before June 1, 2002, are excused from taking the UGC NET examination.
Exam Date
The examination date of UGC NET 2020 has been postponed and the new dates will be announced soon at the official site. Here are the other important dates that the applicants must know.
| Events | Dates |
| Notification release | 16th March 2020 |
| Online Application Release Date | 16th March 2020 |
| Application form last date | 30th June 2020 |
| Correction begins | 6th July to 15th July 2020 |
| Availability of Admit card | July 2020 |
| Examination Date | July 2020 (Postponed) |
| Answer Key Release Date | July 2020 |
| Announcement of Results | July/ August 2020 |
Exam Pattern
The examination of UGC NET 2020 is going to be held in July 2020 for the session of June. This entrance test is going to be held in Online CBT mode with two papers i.e., Paper I and Paper II for the exam. There will be a total number of 150 multiple choice type questions that will be asked in the examination. Out of these 50 questions would be asked in Paper I and 100 questions in Paper II. Students can answer in English and Hindi language. In order to solve Paper I, 1-hour duration will be given and it will be of 100 marks while for Paper-II 2 hours will be allotted and it will be of 200 marks. For every correct answer, 2 marks will be allotted and no negative marking will be done for an incorrect answer.
Syllabus
The complete syllabus of UGC NET for Paper I and Paper II can be checked by the candidates through online mode. One must take note that the syllabus may vary according to the subjects selected by the candidates at the time of registration.
Paper I of UGC NET 2020 is going to include questions of generic nature to check the teaching/research aptitude of the each and every student appearing in the exam. This paper is going to test the knowledge of the candidate in reasoning ability, divergent thinking, comprehension, as well as general awareness. Paper-II of UGC NET 2020 is going to include several topics from the subjects that have been selected by the candidates. The topics are going to be included from the Bachelors and Masters level syllabus.
Preparation Tips
Start your exam preparation as soon as possible as the exam date is coming closer therefore, you will get enough time to study and for revision as well a few days before the examination. Prepare the syllabus thoroughly and check the examination pattern along with the marking scheme of UGC NET before beginning the preparation of your exam. Go for mock tests or sample papers and also try previous year’s question paper to boost your speed and to analyse your preparation.
Answer Key
After the entrance exam has been conducted by the board, the authority is going to publish the Answer key of UGC NET 2020. The candidates can also check or download the Answer key through online mode at the official site. For both, the Paper – I and II answer key is going to be released by the officials very soon. Candidates can check the right answers of all the questions that have been asked in the exam paper and through this, they can predict their estimated marks. If any candidate is not satisfied with an answer then they can also raise their objection.
Cut-Off Marks
The cut-off marks of UGC NET 2020 are going to be published online by the board after the successful completion of entrance test. Here is the list of UGC NET 2020 cut off marks from last year trends as per to various categories.
| Category | Minimum qualifying marks (in %) | |
| Paper – I | Paper-II | |
| General | 40 Per cent | 40 Per cent |
| OBC – NCL/PWD/ST/SC | 35 Per cent | 35 Per cent |
Application Fee
In order to successfully register themselves to the UGC NET 2020 entrance exam, applicants have to pay the application fee which is different as per to the categories. Candidates can pay the fee via debit/credit card/ Net Banking/Paytm.
| Categories | Application Fee |
| General Candidates | Rs.1000 |
| General EWS/ OBC- NCL Candidates | Rs.500 |
| ST/SC/PwD Candidates | Rs.250 |
Admit Card
The admit card of UGC NET 2020 is an important document which candidate should bring at the examination centre otherwise they will not be allowed to enter. The admit card will be released soon on July 2020 on the official site and candidates can get access to it by entering application number and password at the online portal.
Result
After the entrance test is completed, the answer key is going to be announced by the board online at the official site. The result is likely to get released in August 2020 for the June session exam. Students can visit the official site in order to check their result. The candidates have to enter their credentials such as their roll number and date of birth and then they can have access to their result.
Counselling
The counselling procedure is going to carry out only for those students who have qualified in the result as well as the cut-off marks. In this process, the seat will be allotted to the candidates and they would be asked to choose the subjects and last the documents will be verified of the selected candidates.