Aspirants in a NET over UGC's updated keys

Even as the resentment over the University Grants Commission’s decision to raise the eligibility bar after declaring the results of the National Eligibility Test  is yet to die down, a fresh controversy has arisen over updated answer keys unveiled by the agency.

According to aspirants, before the NET results were formally declared, the UGC had posted answer keys for different subjects on its website. However, after it declared the results and raised the eligibility requirement, it hosted “updated answer keys” in which the answers to some questions were in variance with the original answer keys.

“Candidates were surprised to find that in some papers for a few multiple-choice questions the UGC had said that either of the options was right. Besides, a few questions were declared ‘not evaluated’. In a tough examination, which can make or mar the lives of aspiring lecturers, it defies understanding how the UGC could afford to make such costly mistakes,” fumed Nagappan, a candidate.

Describing this as a serious issue that is bound to be legally challenged, C R Ravi, an associate professor, said “the UGC which has all along been tossing up MPhil degree holders (by wavering on their eligibility to become lecturers without passing the NET) now appears to be annihilating the aspirations of NET candidates too.”