NEW DELHI, Aug 17: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday demanded accountability from the National Testing Agency (NTA) over the cancellation and re-examination of three papers of the UGC-NET June 2026 examination.
In a post on X, Gandhi criticised the handling of the examination and questioned why candidates were being made to bear the consequences of errors allegedly committed by the examination authority.
He said the UGC-NET papers for English, Commerce and Sociology had been conducted between June 22 and 30, but were cancelled nearly two months later following complaints about errors and repeated questions.
Gandhi said thousands of aspirants who had spent years preparing for the examination would now have to repeat the process, including travelling to examination centres and making arrangements for the additional test.
“NTA makes the mistake but the student serves the sentence,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.
He alleged that the examination system was placing an unfair burden on students and claimed that repeated disruptions were affecting their finances, time, confidence and mental well being.
Gandhi also questioned whether the examination papers had been leaked before the test and demanded an explanation from the agency.
The Congress leader said the resignation of former Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan should be considered only the beginning of accountability measures. He argued that the leadership of the NTA should also be held responsible for the latest controversy.
Addressing candidates scheduled to appear for the examination again, Gandhi said they were not responsible for the disruption and assured them that his party would continue to demand answers from the government.
The NTA announced on Sunday that the three affected UGC-NET papers would be conducted again in September following complaints regarding errors in the question papers.
The English examination is scheduled for September 9 from 9 am to noon, while the Commerce paper will take place on the same day from 3 pm to 6 pm. The Sociology examination is scheduled for September 10 from 9 am to noon.
The June 2026 UGC-NET examination was conducted from June 22 to 30 across 87 subjects. The test determines eligibility for Junior Research Fellowship, appointment as assistant professors and admission to PhD programmes.
The latest controversy comes amid sustained political scrutiny of the NTA following the NEET examination controversy, with the Congress continuing to question the agency’s functioning and accountability.