NET Exam Pattern

National Eligibility Test (NET):

On behalf of University Grants Commission (UGC), Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) conducts National Eligibility Test (NET) every year. For 2018, the exam is scheduled to be held on 8th July. In this article, go through the NET exam pattern.

National Eligibility Test (NET) is conducted twice a year in order to select candidates for only Assistant Professor or both Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Assistant Professor in Indian universities and colleges. CBSE will conduct NET in 84 subjects at 91 selected NET Examination Cities spread across the country.

The candidates who qualify for the award of Junior Research Fellowship are eligible to pursue research in the subject of their post-graduation or in a related subject and are also eligible for Assistant Professor. The universities, institutions, IITs and other national organizations may select the JRF awardees for whole time research work in accordance with the procedure prescribed by them. The award of JRF and Eligibility for Assistant Professor both OR Eligibility for Assistant Professor only will depend on the performance of the candidate in all three papers of NET. However, the candidates qualifying exclusively for Assistant Professor will not be considered for award of JRF.

UGC NET Schedule for 2018

1st February	Availability of Detailed Notification
6th March – 12th April	Online Applications
6th April – 13th April	Last Date for Application Fee
25th April – 1st May	Correction in Particulars of Application Form
8th July	UCG NET Examination

Events	Paper 1	Paper 2
Exam date	8th July 2018	8th July 2018
Entry in the Examination Hall	07.00 AM	10.45 AM
Distribution of Test Booklet	09.15 AM	10.50 AM
Last entry in the Examination Hall	09.30 AM	11.00 AM
Test commences	09.30 AM	11.00 AM
Test concludes	10.30 AM	1.00 PM

Scheme of Tests

Session	Paper	Marks	No. of Questions	Duration
First	I	100	50 (All compulsory)	1 Hour
Second	II	200	100 (All compulsory)	2 Hours

NET Exam Pattern

It is important to know the NET exam pattern so as to begin preparations towards the exam.

• The  Exam will consist of two papers.
• Both the papers will consist of only objective type questions.

Paper I:

• It will consist of 50 objective type compulsory questions each carrying 2 marks.
• The questions which will be of general nature, intended to assess the teaching/research aptitude of the candidate.
• It will primarily be designed to test reasoning ability, comprehension, divergent thinking and general awareness of the candidate.

Section	Questions	Marks
Teaching Aptitude	5	10
Research Aptitude	5	10
Reading Comprehension	5	10
Communication	5	10
Reasoning (including Maths)	5	10
Logical Reasoning	5	10
Data Interpretation	5	10
Information & Communication Technology (ICT)	5	10
People & Environment	5	10
Higher Education System: Governance, Polity & Administration	5	10
Total	50	100

Paper II:

• It will consist of 100 objective type compulsory questions each carrying 2 marks based on the subject selected by the candidate.
• All the questions of Paper II will be compulsory, covering entire syllabus (including all electives, without options).
• You will have to mark the responses for questions of Paper I & Paper II on the Optical Mark Reader (OMR) Sheet provided along with the test booklet.

Rules for people with disabilities

• Thirty Minutes compensatory time will be provided separately for Paper-I and Paper-II.
• They will also be provided with the services of a scribe who would be a graduate in a subject other than that of the candidate. The faculty of scribe will be provided only to those persons who have disability 40% or more.
• UGC will also provide the Test Booklets of Paper-I & II in Braille along with usual Test Booklets as provided to other candidates.
• Those candidates who are not in a position to write in their own hand-writing can also avail these services by making prior request (at least one week before the date of UGC-NET) in writing to the Coordinator of the NET Coordinating Institution.

Procedure and Criteria for declaration of result

Step I: The number of candidates to be qualified (total slots) for Eligibility for Assistant Professor shall be equal to 6% of the candidates appeared in both the papers of NET.
Step II: The total slots shall be allocated to different categories as per the reservation policy of Government of India.
Step III: In order to be considered for Both Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Eligibility for Assistant Professor and for Eligibility for Assistant Professor Only , the candidate must have appeared in both the papers and secured at least 40% aggregate marks in both the papers taken together for General (Unreserved) category candidates and at least 35% aggregate marks in both the papers taken together for all candidates belonging to the reserved categories (viz., SC, ST, OBC (belonging to Non-Creamy Layer) & PWD) and Transgenders.
Step IV: The number of candidates to be declared qualified in any subject for a particular category is derived.

Step V: All candidates who had applied for Eligibility for JRF & Eligibility for Assistant Professor Both out of the total number of qualified candidates derived as per Step IV, shall constitute the consideration zone for JRF.
Step VI: The total number slots available for awarding JRF is allocated among different categories as per the reservation policy of Government of India.

UGC NET Important Instructions by CBSE

• On behalf of UGC, the Central Board of Secondary Education announces holding of the National Eligibility Test(NET) on 08th JULY, 2018 (SUNDAY)for determining the eligibility of Indian nationals for the Eligibility for Assistant Professor only or Junior Research Fellowship & Eligibility for Assistant Professor Both in Indian universities and colleges. CBSE will conduct NET in 84 subjects (listed under item no.14 on page 12-14) at 91 selected Cities of Examination (listed under item no.15 on page 14-16) spread across the country.
• The award of JRF and Eligibility for Assistant Professor both OR Eligibility for Assistant Professor only will depend on the performance of the candidate in both the papers of NET in aggregate. However, the candidates qualifying exclusively for Assistant Professor will not be considered for award of JRF. Candidate appearing in NET should clearly specify in the prescribed Application Form whether they are applying for both JRF & Eligibility for Assistant Professor both OR only for eligibility for Assistant Professor. Candidates who qualify the Test for eligibility for Assistant Professor will be governed by the rules and regulations for recruitment of Assistant Professor of the concerned universities/colleges/state governments, as the case may be.
• The result of the UGC-NET to be held on 08th July, 2018 will be made available on the websites: cbsenet.nic.in as and when it is declared. The candidate will not be individually intimated about their result. The candidates who qualify for the award of Junior Research Fellowship are eligible to pursue research in the subject of their post-graduation or in a related subject and are also eligible for Assistant Professor. The universities, institutions, IITs and other national organizations may select the JRF awardees for whole time research work in accordance with the procedure prescribed by them.
• Scheduled Caste(SC)/Scheduled Tribe(ST)/Persons with Disability(PwD)/Other Backward Classes(OBC)(Non creamy layer), as per the central list of Other Backward Classes available on National Commission for Backward Classes (NCBC), Government of India website: www.ncbc.nic.in, candidate will be given such special concessions as may be decided by the UGC.
• Candidates qualifying for the award of Junior Research fellowship will be eligible to receive fellowship of UGC under various schemes, subject to their finding placement in universities/IITs/institutions. The validity period of the offer is three years w.e.f. the date of issue of JRF Award Letter. However, in case the candidates who have already joined M. Phil./Ph.D., the date of commencement of fellowship shall be from the date of declaration of NET result or date of their joining, whichever is later.

To all the candidates appearing for NET 2018 – Good luck, may the odds be in your favor!