UGC NET or the National Eligibility Test or NTA UGC NET determines the eligibility of an individual for the post of an assistant professor or junior research fellowship (JRF) in all the Indian colleges and universities. The NET exam was introduced in the year of 1989. Widely regarded as one of the hardest exams to clear the winning percentage of the exam is just 6 percent.  As per the stats of the National Testing Agency (NTA) the NET exam conducted in June this year 9,42,419 candidates applied for the exam and out of that only a mere 55,701 candidates cleared it across 101 different subjects.

Up until July 2018, the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) organized the exam. From December of that year, NTA took charge of conducting the exam.  The exams are conducted twice annually with one exam being conducted in December 2019. One of the biggest plus points that make appearing for the UGC NET exam is that no additional certificates or documents should be sent to NTA. The remaining NET exam this year will be conducted on or between 2^nd -6^th of this December

Fee structure

General: 1000

OBC: 500

SC and ST: 250

Age Limits for 2019 UGC NET

1. For JRF: Candidates above the age of 30 years cannot apply for the exam

2. There is no upper age limit for candidates appearing for the exam of Assistant Professor

Qualifying Criteria and Pass Percentages of NET exam

1.  Candidates who wish to appear for the exam should score a minimum of 55 percent (general category) and a minimum of 50 percent (others) in a master’s degree.

2. The examination papers will be divided into 2 and in both of these 2 papers the candidates will face a total of 150 questions and the exam time limit is 3 hours.

3. The minimum cut of mark after combining both the papers is 40 percent for general category and for OBC-NCL, SC, ST, PwD, and Transgender categories are 35 percent

4. Out of the candidates who have cleared the exam, the top 6 percent is directly selected for the eligibility of NET lectureship

5. From the NET qualifiers, a separate merit list will be created for candidates who are eligible for JRF

6. E-certificates of the qualifying candidates will be available for the candidates in the profile which they have created while submitting their online applications at the UGC website.

Even though clearing the NET exam is tough, if you clear the exam there are many added advantages for the qualifiers and some of them are

1. Opportunity to join top Universities as an Assistant Professor: The most common career scope and job opportunity of qualifying the NET exam is that you can get appointed as an Assistant Professor in top universities across India which is considered as one of the most respectable jobs you can get with an impressive salary package varying from 25000 to 40000 per month as starting salary.

2. Possibility of getting promoted: If you are currently doing a research work and you qualify the NET exam then you have a better opportunity of getting promoted and this will open the door for many career possibilities

3. Getting more preference: If you are a UGC NET qualifier you will be considered as an exceptional candidate and the employer will be more attracted towards your resume and this increases the chance of you getting employed

4. Job Opportunities in PSU’s: By clearing the NET exam you have also the opportunity of joining other government organizations and you have the opportunity of joining any of the PSU’s in various departments

5. Eligibility for JRF fellowship: An added advantage of qualifying NET exams with high marks is that you are automatically eligible for JRF fellowship and get a scholarship amounting to Rs 31000 for the first 2 years and 35000 for the remaining tenure.