UGC-NET December 2025: Over 1.35 lakh candidates appear on January 2; 507 centres, 278 cities covered

The National Testing Agency (NTA) conducted the University Grants Commission National Eligibility Test (UGC-NET) December 2025 exam on January 2. The exam is to determine eligibility for assistant professor posts and junior research fellowship (JRF) in Indian universities and colleges.

As per the official exam highlights released by the NTA, a total of 1,35,079 candidates appeared for the UGC-NET December 2025 exam on January 2. The test was conducted at 507 examination centres located across 278 cities in India. The examination was held in computer-based test mode following the prescribed schedule.

The UGC-NET examination, conducted on January 2, was held in two shifts. In shift 1, a total of 66,318 candidates appeared for subjects including Arabic, Urdu, Bengali, Forensic Science, Library and Information Science, Human Rights and Duties, Computer Science and Applications, and Bodo Language.

In Shift 2, 68,761 candidates appeared in subjects such as Oriya, Psychology, Philosophy, Punjabi, Sociology, Women Studies, Social Medicine and Community Health, and Yoga.

The NTA states that the exam was conducted with support from state and district authorities. Candidates followed the exam guidelines issued by the agency, including reporting time, identity verification, and examination hall instructions. The agency said that the examination process was completed as scheduled.

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UGC-NET December 2025 schedule and answer key process

The UGC-NET December 2025 exam is being conducted for a total of 85 subjects. As per the official timetable, the exam is scheduled on December 31, January 2, January 3, January 5, January 6, and January 7. Each examination day has two shifts. The first shift is held from 9 am to 12 pm, while the second shift is conducted from 3 pm to 6 pm. The duration of the examination is three hours for each shift. The UGC NET admit card for the remaining exams is available on the official website at ugcnet.nta.nic.in.

Following the completion of all exam dates, the NTA will release the UGC-NET December 2025 provisional answer key. Along with the provisional answer key, the agency will also make available the recorded responses and question papers on the official website.

Candidates will be allowed to review the provisional answer key and submit objections, if any, within the stipulated period by paying the prescribed processing fee. The NTA will examine the challenges received from candidates before finalising the answer key. The final answer key will be used for the preparation of the UGC-NET December 2025 result.