How Difficult is UGC NET? Let’s Decode Here
University Grants Commission conducts National Eligibility Test – NET also called UGC NET for candidates who want to pursue their careers as Junior Research Fellowship JRF or Assistant Professor in India. CBSE conducted the NET in 84 topics in 91 cities across the country until June 2018. Following that, the National Testing Agency now conducts the UGC-NET from December 2018 onwards (NTA).
The official notification for UGC NET for December 2020 and June 2021 has been released on the official website. The application process is ongoing from 10, 2021 and the last date to apply for the exam is September 05, 2021.
The eligibility for Junior Research Fellowship (JRF) and Assistant Professorship is based on the candidate’s overall performance in UGC-NET Papers I and II. Candidates who only fulfil the criteria for Assistant Professorship will not be considered for a JRF. Candidates who clear the eligibility test for Assistant Professorship are subject to the university/college/state government’s rules and regulations. Here, we will look into the difficulty level of the exam last year
What UGC NET 2020 Paper Analysis Says
The UGC NET Exam 2020 took place between September 24 and November 13, 2020. Every time after the exam, the UGC NET Exam Analysis 2020 is provided to students to get an idea about the level of difficulty of the exam. The analysis acts as reference for future aspirants.
The UGC NET Exam Analysis 2020 contains information about the exam’s difficulty level, topics covered in the exam, good tries, and question papers highlights.
The overall analysis of the paper can be described as Easy to Moderate for the General Paper 1 and for Paper 2 , some subjects papers were easy whereas some were moderate to hard.
For the UGC NET, Paper 1 is required of all aspirants, Paper 2 is subject-specific and depends on the aspirants’ chosen subject. Mentioned below is the analysis.
| Paper | Number of questions | Marks | Difficulty level |
| Paper-1 | 50 | 100 | Moderate |
| Paper-2 | 100 | 200 | Moderate-tough |
It consisted more of concept-based questions, whereas logical reasoning and DI was somewhat easier.
UGC NET 2020 Analysis Shift 1 for 24th September 2020 (9 am to 12 pm)
Paper 1
| Sections | Analysis |
| Teaching Aptitude | Moderate |
| Research Aptitude | Tough |
| Comprehension | Tough |
| Communication | Moderate |
| Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude | Easy |
| Logical Reasoning | Moderate |
| Data Interpretation | Easy |
| Information and Communication Technology | Moderate |
| People, Development and Environment | Moderate |
| Higher Education System | Moderate |
UGC NET Paper-2 Analysis
Paper-2 was conducted for the following subjects mentioned in Shift-1
| Tribal and Regional Language/Literature | Spanish |
| Sindhi | Sanskrit |
| Rajasthani | Prakrit |
| Persian | Manipuri |
| Maithili | Konkani |
| Kannada | Japanese |
| Indian Culture | Gujarati |
| German | Dogri |
| Comparative Study of Religions | Chinese |
| Continuing Education/Adult education/ Non Formal Education/Andragogy | – |
UGC NET Analysis – Shift 2, 24th September 2020 (3:00 pm to 6:00 pm)
| Paper | Number of questions | Marks | Difficulty level |
| Paper – 1 | 50 | 100 | Moderate |
| Paper – 2 | 100 | 200 | Moderate-tough |
The Compression section was easier for the 2nd shift than the morning shift. Teaching Aptitude was a common topic in both shifts.
Paper-1 analysis
| Sections | Analysis |
| Teaching Aptitude | Moderate |
| Research Aptitude | Moderate |
| Comprehension | Easy |
| Communication | Easy |
| Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude | Moderate |
| Logical Reasoning | Moderate |
| Data Interpretation | Easy |
| Information and Communication Technology | Moderate |
| People, Development and Environment | Moderate |
| Higher Education System | Moderate |
Paper-2
Paper-2 was conducted for the following subjects mentioned in Shift-2.
| Arab Culture and Islamic Studies | Arabic |
| Jains, Buddhist, Gandhian and Peace Studies | Defence and Strategic Studies |
| Linguistics | Mass Communication and Journalism |
| Nepali | Oriya |
| Pali | Tamil |
The UGC NET 2020 Shift 1 paper was neither hard nor easy. It had a moderate difficulty level. Most of the questions in shift1 paper1 were conceptual. There were lots of questions from Teaching aptitude. The Shift 2 overall papers were on a moderate level.
UGC NET 2020 Paper Analysis – 25th September 2020
UGC NET was conducted in two shifts on September 25, 2020: Shift 1 and Shift 2. Check the analysis below.
| Paper | Number of questions | Marks | Difficulty level |
| Paper – 1 | 50 | 100 | Easy-Moderate |
| Paper-2 | 100 | 200 | Easy-Moderate |
Paper-1 Analysis Shift 1 (9:00 am to 12:00 pm)
| Section | Analysis |
| Teaching Aptitude | Moderate- Tough |
| Comprehension | Moderate- Tough |
| Research Aptitude | Tough |
| Communication | Moderate |
| Logical Reasoning | Moderate |
| Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude | Moderate |
| People, Development and Environment | Moderate |
| Data Interpretation | Easy |
| Information and Communication Technology | Moderate |
| Higher Education System | Moderate |
Paper-2
Paper-2 was conducted for the following subjects mentioned in Shift-2.
| Comparative Literature | Criminology |
| Folk Literature | Forensic Science |
| French (French Version) | Museology & Conservation |
| Psychology | Tourism Administration and Management |
UGC NET Analysis of exam in Shift 2 (3:00 pm to 6:00 pm)
| Paper | Number of questions | Marks | Difficulty level |
| Paper – 1 | 50 | 100 | Easy- Moderate |
| Paper-2 | 100 | 200 | Moderate-tough |
Paper-1 Analysis
| Section | Analysis |
| Teaching Aptitude | Moderate |
| Comprehension | Tough |
| Research Aptitude | Moderate-tough |
| Communication | Moderate |
| Logical Reasoning | Moderate |
| Mathematical Reasoning and Aptitude | Easy-moderate |
| People, Development and Environment | Current affairs |
| Data Interpretation | Easy |
| Information and Communication Technology | Moderate |
| Higher Education System | Moderate-tough |
For Shift1, the overall paper was easy to moderate. Again, the aptitude questions were difficult where Maths and Reasoning questions were easy to solve.
For Shift 2, the papers were comparatively difficult and reasoning questions seemed tough to solve.
Likewise, the exams were being conducted in 2 shifts – 9 am to 12 pm and 3 to 6 pm on the respective dates – 29 , 30 September, 1,9,17 October and 4,11,12,13 November.
The Overall Analysis of UGC NET 2020
- The Paper 1 for UGC NET 2020 stands on a Moderate level of difficulty as the questions asked in the paper were more from Research and Teaching Aptitude.
- There were comparatively less questions from Maths and LR sections. There were a scant amount of questions from Environment , Communication and other sections.
- Few questions of Comprehension were hard and candidates struggled to solve bit lengthy paragraphs.
The section-wise difficulty and total number of question can be interpreted from following table:
| Topics For Paper 1 | Difficulty Level | Questions |
| Teaching Aptitude | Moderate | 10 -12 |
| Research Aptitude | Difficult | 8 – 10 |
| Reading Comprehension | Moderate to Difficult | 5 |
| Reasoning | Easy | 5 |
| Data Interpretation | Easy to Moderate | 5 – 7 |
| Mathematics | Moderate to Difficult | 5 – 7 |
| Communication | Moderate | 4 – 5 |
| People and Environment | Easy to Moderate | 3 – 4 |
| Higher Education System | Moderate to Difficult | 3 – 4 |
| Information and Communication Technology | Moderate | 3 – 4 |
The UGC NET Paper 2 is subject-wise paper and different subject tests are taken to assess the candidates. So the difficulty level of this paper in 2020 is based on the paper for which a candidate is giving an exam and they are different for different candidates.
Finally, it can be said the papers were a good combination of tricky questions along with the direct one. If a student’s basics for Maths, and English are clear, half of the task is over. Practising the difficult questions and previous years papers will help the students to reach their desired goal to score good in UGC NET.
