The UGC-NET examination held on June 30 has come under criticism after candidates appearing for the Sociology paper said it had several spelling mistakes, poor Hindi translations, grammatical errors and questions that were allegedly beyond the prescribed syllabus. A number of aspirants claimed the errors weren’t just isolated typographical issues but pointed to serious lapses in the preparation and quality review of the question paper. The candidates also alleged that the inaccurate translations made many of the questions hard to understand, which, in turn, affected their ability to attempt the examination.
UGC NET 2026 Sociology Paper Leak Claims
A group of students alleges that June 30 Sociology paper was leaked before the exam. They also claimed that there was a PDF that contained questions which circulated before exam, as the PDF matches the actual question paper.
Student groups alleged around 90 out of 100 questions matched the UGC NET 2026 Sociology Paper. They alleged that the question paper was sold for up to Rs 2.25 lakh to aspirants before appearing for the examination.
The NTA has not issued an official statement on the allegations.
UGC NET 2026 Sociology Paper Under Fire Over Spelling Mistakes, Translation Errors
The issue got a lot of traction on social media after researcher Antara Chakraborty shared a fairly detailed post, where she described what she said were widespread mistakes in the paper.
According to the post, names of prominent sociologists and scholars were misspelt, including George Ritzer, GS Ghurye, AR Desai and Martha Nussbaum. The post also alleged that the Hindi version of several questions was poorly translated and grammatically incorrect, creating confusion among candidates.
Aspirants then added that some questions seemed not related to the syllabus at all , and they also wondered about the quality controls used while the question paper was being set.
In response to these allegations, the National Testing Agency (NTA) said it had taken note of the concerns that are being raised about the Sociology paper.
“The NTA has received representations from candidates regarding alleged spelling mistakes and translation issues in the UGC-NET Sociology question paper. These representations are being examined in accordance with the agency’s established procedures. Subject experts will review the concerns, and if any discrepancy is found, appropriate action will be taken in line with the prescribed norms,” the agency said.
The UGC-NET is held in order to figure out whether candidates are eligible for the role of Assistant Professor, for getting admission into PhD programmes, and for the award of Junior Research Fellowship ( JRF ) within universities and colleges all over the country.
Also Read: CSIR UGC NET 2026 Exam City Slip Released: Check Direct Link, Steps To Download
Manisha Chauhan is a Senior Sub Editor with over three years of experience in digital journalism. She covers breaking news, national, international, and trending topics. With expertise in news writing, editing and SEO, she is committed to delivering accurate, engaging and reader-friendly content that keeps audiences informed.
