UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

The University Grants Commission was established by a specific Act of Parliament with the explicit mandate to coordinate, determine and maintain standards of university education in India. It issues regulations on minimum standards, provides grants and oversees the functioning of universities. No other body has such a broad and system-wide jurisdiction over universities. Therefore, the only option that fits the description in the stem is the University Grants Commission.

Option A:
The University Grants Commission is the apex body for the university system as a whole, responsible for both funding support and regulatory norms. It interacts with central and state universities and lays down guidelines that institutions must follow to ensure quality. Because this aligns exactly with the statutory coordination and standard-setting role described, Option A is the correct choice.

Option B:
The All India Council for Technical Education deals mainly with technical and management education and approves specific programmes and institutions in those domains. Its mandate does not extend to coordinating the entire university education system across disciplines. Hence, Option B cannot complete the stem accurately.

Option C:
The National Council for Teacher Education focuses only on teacher education programmes such as B.Ed. and M.Ed. and regulates that single sector. Since the stem speaks about university education in general, NCTE’s narrow sectoral remit makes Option C unsuitable.

Option D:
The National Board of Accreditation accredits individual technical programmes rather than overseeing all universities. It evaluates programme quality but does not coordinate or maintain system-wide standards for university education, so Option D does not match the stem.