Rahul Gandhi Questions NTA Over UGC-NET Re-Exam, Seeks Accountability From Centre

New Delhi, August 17, 2026; Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Monday criticised the National Testing Agency (NTA) after it announced fresh examinations for UGC-NET candidates in English, Commerce and Sociology, accusing the testing body of putting students through unnecessary hardship.

Gandhi said the decision came nearly two months after the UGC-NET June 2026 examinations were conducted. He questioned why candidates who had already appeared for the tests should be required to repeat the process because of errors in the question papers.

In a post on X, the Congress leader directly addressed Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying, “Modi ji, look at what your NTA has just done,” while alleging that faulty papers and repetition of earlier questions had affected thousands of aspirants.

He argued that students had already invested significant time and money in preparation, examination fees and travel to test centres. According to Gandhi, asking them to appear again places the burden of institutional errors on candidates.

The Congress leader also raised questions over the possibility of prior leakage of the question papers and demanded greater accountability from the NTA administration. He reiterated his earlier criticism of the examination system, alleging that students face financial, academic and psychological pressure without receiving adequate opportunities in return.

Gandhi further called for accountability from the leadership of the NTA and said the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, which he had previously demanded, should not be treated as the end of the matter.

Congress Rajya Sabha MP also questioned the timing of the NTA’s decision, asking why serious factual, typographical and translation-related issues in the three papers took nearly two months to identify. He also sought clarification on the status of results for candidates who appeared in the other UGC-NET subjects.

The NTA said it received complaints regarding several errors in the English, Commerce and Sociology question papers. Following an examination by a committee constituted to review the complaints, the agency decided to conduct fresh examinations to maintain fairness and accuracy.

According to the revised schedule, UGC-NET examinations for English and Commerce will take place on September 9, while the Sociology paper will be conducted on September 10.

The agency has clarified that candidates appearing for the re-examination will not have to pay another examination fee. It also said the results of the remaining 84 subjects will be declared as planned and that the number of seats available for allocation will not be reduced.