UGC NET Questions (Paper – 1)

In institutional planning, the vision statement describes the desired future position or aspiration, while the mission statement explains the core purpose and primary functions of the institution. Together, vision and mission provide direction for strategy and decision-making. The stem refers to what an institution aspires to and the fundamental purpose it serves, pointing to vision and mission. Thus, the missing word is “mission,” making Option B correct.

Option A:
A clear mission statement helps stakeholders understand the institution’s priorities, target groups and distinctive contributions to society. It guides programme development, resource allocation and quality assurance processes, which aligns with the context of the question.

Option B:
Syllabus outlines the content of specific courses and is a narrower academic document, not a statement of institutional purpose. Hence, Option A does not fit the stem.

Option C:
Attendance records student presence in classes and has no relation to long-term aspirations or fundamental purposes at the institutional level, so Option C is not appropriate.

Option D:
A timetable schedules activities in time but does not capture why the institution exists or what it seeks to become, making Option D incorrect.

Statements A, B, D and E correctly describe commonly recognised sources of research problems. Practical issues, literature gaps, policy priorities and the need to replicate or extend earlier work all provide fertile grounds for new studies. Statement C is false because personal curiosity, when disciplined and linked to observation or literature, can legitimately motivate research. Thus, the set including A, B, D and E but excluding C is the only fully correct combination.

Option A:
Option A is incomplete because it omits E, failing to acknowledge that replication and extension of earlier studies are major routes to refining evidence. Without E, the long-term cumulative nature of research knowledge is not fully represented.

Option B:
Option B is correct as it gathers together all true statements about how research problems can emerge in practice, literature and policy contexts. It rightly rejects C, which overstates the impropriety of curiosity as a starting point.

Option C:
Option C leaves out A, overlooking practice-based problems arising from professional experience, which are very important in applied fields such as education. This omission makes the combination incomplete even though B, D and E are true.

Option D:
Option D includes C, treating personal curiosity as inherently illegitimate, which is incorrect. Even though it contains some true statements, the presence of C means the option cannot be accepted.