UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

NEP 2020 clearly states that India should aim for a 50% Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education by 2035. This target reflects a major planned expansion of access beyond the current participation levels. It is seen as necessary to utilise the demographic dividend and support a knowledge-based economy. Therefore, 50% is the only option that correctly represents the official policy target.

Option A:
A GER of 25% is closer to older participation levels and does not represent the ambitious expansion envisioned by NEP 2020. Choosing this value would underestimate the policy’s future goal. Hence, 25% cannot complete the statement correctly.

Option B:
A GER of 35% would imply some growth but still falls short of the 50% target clearly mentioned in NEP 2020. It does not capture the scale of expansion the policy aspires to. Therefore, 35% is not the correct answer.

Option C:
A GER of 50% matches the numerical target written in NEP 2020 for 2035. It signals that roughly half of the relevant age cohort should be in higher education. This value alone is consistent with the policy text, which is why it is the correct choice.

Option D:
A GER of 75% would represent an even more ambitious scenario than what NEP 2020 proposes. While desirable in the very long term, it is not the official 2035 benchmark. Therefore, 75% does not correctly complete the statement.

NEP 2020 explicitly states that India should aim to achieve a 50% Gross Enrolment Ratio in higher education by 2035. This target reflects the policy objective of significantly expanding access to post-secondary education. It is seen as necessary for economic growth, knowledge creation and demographic advantage. Therefore, 50% is the only option that correctly matches the official NEP target mentioned in the stem.

Option A:
A GER of 25% is closer to earlier levels of participation and does not represent the ambitious future target set by NEP 2020. Selecting this option would underestimate the scale of expansion envisaged for 2035. Hence, it cannot be the correct completion of the statement.

Option B:
A GER of 35% is higher than 25% but still falls short of the officially stated goal of 50% by 2035. Choosing this option would misrepresent the magnitude of growth planned in the policy. Therefore, it is not the correct answer.

Option C:
50% is the official GER target mentioned in NEP 2020 for higher education by 2035, representing a major planned expansion of access and capacity.

Option D:
A GER of 75% would represent an even more ambitious target than what NEP 2020 actually proposes. Since the policy documents do not state 75% as the 2035 goal, this option does not align with the official benchmark and is incorrect. Although 75% would indicate extremely wide participation, NEP 2020 clearly fixes the benchmark at 50%, so selecting 75% would overstate the intended level of massification.