The University Grants Commission (UGC) has made changes to exam pattern and age limit for candidates appearing in Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE), UGC NET 2018, this was informed to Lok Sabha on Monday. The first two papers continue to be of objective type with multiple choice questions. The first paper of General Awareness consists of 50 compulsory questions of two marks each. The choice of 10 questions in Paper-I has been done away with. The duration of Paper-I has been reduced from the present 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour. The paper continues to be of 100 marks.
Paper-II and Paper-III are both of the same discipline have been merged together to be termed as Paper-II containing 100 compulsory objective type questions of two marks each from the subject selected by the candidate with two hours duration.
The upper age limit for appearing in JRF has been raised by two years from the existing upper age limit of 28 years to 30 years. There is five years relaxation in age for candidates belonging to Schedule Caste/Schedule Tribe/ Persons with Disabilities/ Other Backward Class (Non-Creamy Layer) categories and for women candidates.
Minister of State (HRD), Dr. Satya Pal Singh in a written reply to a Lok Sabha question said that the changes approved by the Commission have been intimated to CBSE on 1st January, 2018. UGC has informed that UGC-NET examination will be conducted twice a year.
In this effect, CBSE has already issued notification on January 8, 2018 stating that it will conduct the next UGC NET 2018 for Junior Research Fellowship & Eligibility for Assistant Professor on July 8, 2018. As per the revised scheme, the test will consist of two papers.
| Paper | Marks | Number of Question | Duration |
| I | 100 | 50 questions. All are compulsory | 1 Hour (09:30 AM to 10:30 AM) IST |
| II | 200 | 100 questions. All are compulsory | 2 Hours (11:00 AM to 1:00 PM) IST |
Paper-I shall consist of 50 objective type compulsory questions each carrying 2 marks. The questions which will be of general nature, intended to assess the teaching/research aptitude of the candidate. It will primarily be designed to test reasoning ability, comprehension, divergent thinking and general awareness of the candidate.
Paper-II shall consist of 100 objective type compulsory questions each carrying 2 marks which will be based on the subject selected by the candidate.
The upper age limit for appearing in JRF has also been raised by two years, i.e. from the existing upper age limit of 28 years to 30 years (the relaxation as earlier will remain same). The last date for applying online is 05th April, 2018 and fee can be paid up to 06th April, 2018.
