The National Testing Agency (NTA) held the UGC NET 2025 exam for the December session on December 31, 2025 . The first shift, from 9 AM to 12 PM , included exams for subjects like Law, Social Work, Telugu, Tourism Administration and Management, Spanish, Prakrit, Kashmiri, and Konkani . Students who took the exam said the overall difficulty level for this shift was moderate .
The UGC NET exam helps candidates qualify to become Assistant Professors or get a Junior Research Fellowship in Indian universities. The NTA conducts this exam as a Computer-Based Test (CBT) across the country. The December 2025 exam session will continue until January 7, 2026 .
UGC NET Dec 31 Shift 1 Exam Analysis: Difficulty Level
Students found the UGC NET Dec 31 Shift 1 exam to be of moderate difficulty. Some students mentioned that Paper 1 felt a bit lengthy. For the Law subject (Paper 2) , the difficulty was also rated as moderate.
Questions Asked in Paper 1 (Dec 31, Shift 1)
In Paper 1 , questions from Research Aptitude, Information & Communication Technology (ICT), and Logical Reasoning had more importance. Here are some of the topics students remembered:
- Two Reading Comprehension passages
- Barriers of Communication
- RAM/ROM (Computer Memory)
- Network Protocols
- Learner-Centric Teaching
- Disaster Management
- Richter Scale (Earthquakes)
- Blood Relation questions
- Self-Paced Teaching
- Terms of Reference (TOR) Statement
- Survey Research
- ICT - Scripted Language
- Train Speed and Distance problems
- National Education Policy (NEP)
- Affective & Cognitive Domain (Teaching)
- Syllogism - Mode & Figure
- Square of Opposition
- NCRF, ABC
- Number series
- Green House Gas effect
- Data Interpretation (DI) based on Ratios and Tables (admission related)
- Traditional Square of Opposition
- Commissions (Education related)
Paper 1 Section-wise Difficulty (Shift 1)
Students gave the following ratings for different sections of Paper 1:
| Section | Difficulty Level (Shift 1) |
| Data Interpretation | Easy to Moderate |
| Communication | Easy |
| Logical Reasoning | Moderate |
| ICT | Easy to Moderate |
| People and Environment | Moderate |
| Mathematics | Easy to Moderate |
| Reading Comprehension | Easy |
| Higher Education System | Moderate |
| Teaching Aptitude | Easy to Moderate |
| Research Aptitude | Moderate |
UGC NET 2025 Exam Timings for Dec 31 (Shift 1)
Candidates followed these timings for the morning shift:
| Shift | Gate Opening Time | Gate Closing Time | Exam Time | Duration |
| Morning (Shift I) | 7:15 to 7:30 AM | 8:30 AM | 9 AM to 12 PM | 3 hours |
Important Instructions for Exam Day
The NTA had released admit cards for the December 31 and January 2 exams. All candidates had to follow specific rules at the exam centre:
- Carry a printed copy of the UGC NET admit card . Digital copies or screenshots were not allowed.
- Reach the exam centre before the reporting time mentioned on the admit card. Gates closed at 8:30 AM .
- Bring a valid government-issued photo ID like Aadhaar, PAN, Passport, Voter ID, or Driving Licence.
- Carry passport-size photographs .
- If applicable, bring a PwD/Disability Certificate .
- Follow all instructions given by the exam supervisor.
- Submit all rough sheets given for calculations before leaving the exam hall.
UGC NET Exam Pattern and Marking Scheme
The UGC NET exam has two papers, Paper 1 and Paper 2. Candidates get three hours to complete both papers.
| UGC NET Paper | Number of Questions | Total Marks |
| UGC NET Paper 1 | 50 | 100 |
| UGC NET Paper 2 | 100 | 200 |
| Total | 150 | 300 |
There is no negative marking in the UGC NET 2025 exam. For every correct answer, candidates get 2 marks . No marks are lost for wrong answers or questions that are not attempted.
