Candidates flag 14 questions, putting UGC NET political science paper under scrutiny

Candidates and teachers have sought a detailed review of the UGC NET Political Science paper and answer key after raising objections to 14 questions.As many as 14 questions in the Political Science paper of the UGC NET examination are being questioned by candidates and teachers, with demands growing for a detailed review of the paper and answer key.Political Science aspirants have alleged that several questions in their paper had questionable options or were framed in a way that could lead to more than one possible answer.Student Suchitra Srivastava said that around 14 questions appeared challengeable. She argued that these were not necessarily difficult questions, but basic conceptual questions where problems with the wording or answer choices could affect candidates who had prepared for the subject.The dispute has emerged days after the NTA withheld the provisional answer keys for three other subjects, English, Commerce and Sociology, and announced fresh examinations following complaints about serious errors in those papers. The concern is particularly important because UGC NET scores are used to determine eligibility for Junior Research Fellowship, Assistant Professor positions and, under the applicable category, PhD admissions.#WATCH | Delhi: Educators and Aspirants visit NTA office, Student Suchitra Srivastava says, "... I am a student of the Textbook platform. Pradyumn Sir taught me Political Science, and I appeared for the Political Science paper. The problem right now is that 14 questions are pic.twitter.com/vpadmVyqNC— ANI (@ANI) August 19, 2026200 CHARGE PUTS PRESSURE ON STUDENTSA candidate has to pay 200 for each question challenged. If an aspirant wants to challenge all 14 questions, the total would come to 2,800. Students say this creates a difficult choice: either spend a sizeable amount to contest questions they believe are incorrect or accept the possible impact on their scores.The NTA's process allows candidates to submit objections along with supporting material, after which the agency reviews the challenges before preparing the final answer key.Srivastava has also alleged a separate problem involving her recorded responses. She claimed that some answers shown on the NTA response sheet did not match the answers she remembers marking in the examination.According to her, 24 responses were shown differently.If such a discrepancy is established, candidates say it could have a direct effect on their final marks and, in a competitive examination, potentially on their eligibility for JRF or Assistant Professor recruitment.The allegation has therefore widened the debate from individual questions to the reliability of the entire response-recording and answer-key process.NTA TEACHERS SEEK CLARITY FROM NTATeachers have also joined the candidates in seeking answers.Pradyuman Tripathi, a Political Science teacher who visited the NTA office in Delhi, raised concerns over the subject's answer key and the way questions are being prepared and reviewed.He alleged that problems in the examination system have become more visible in recent years and questioned the absence of a clear examination calendar and a consistent system for dealing with complaints.The Political Science dispute comes at a time when the wider UGC NET process is already under pressure.The NTA has not announced a re-test for Political Science. For now, the subject remains part of the 84 papers for which the provisional answer-key process has been completed.But with candidates and teachers questioning as many as 14 questions, the Political Science paper has become another test of whether the examination authority can reassure students that the final result will be based on a paper that was properly set, checked and evaluated.- EndsPublished By: Rishab ChauhanPublished On: Aug 19, 2026 14:54 IST