Chennai: The National Testing Agency (NTA) has defended the Rs 200 fee charged for challenging each answer in the UGC-NET provisional answer key, saying the charge is intended to discourage frivolous objections and not to generate revenue.

The UGC-NET is conducted for recruitment as assistant professors in higher educational institutions, award of Junior Research Fellowships and admission to PhD programmes.

The June 2026 examination was held from June 22 to 30 in 84 subjects. The provisional answer keys were released on August 16, following which candidates were allowed to challenge answers by paying Rs 200 for each objection.

The fee drew criticism from candidates across the country.

In a clarification, the NTA said the answer-key challenge mechanism had been designed to ensure fairness to all candidates. If even one candidate challenges an answer and the subject expert committee accepts the objection, the correction would benefit all candidates who appeared for that examination. The Rs 200 fee would be refunded if the challenge was upheld.

The NTA said the fee was intended to prevent baseless and unnecessary objections that could delay the declaration of results, and was not meant for profit.

Meanwhile, the NTA has ordered fresh examinations for UGC-NET papers in English, Commerce and Sociology after an expert review found serious errors in the question papers. The re-examinations are scheduled for September 9 and 10, while the remaining subjects are unaffected.