Passage—1
By the time children reach class 8, the bulk of them tend to be in the age range of 13 years to 15 years. But in our country, about a quarter of all children in class 8 struggle with reading simple texts and more than half are still unable to do basic arithmetic operations like division. Every year about 25 million young boys and girls from elementary school move into the life that lies for them beyond compulsory schooling. They cannot enter the workforce at least in the organized sector till they are 18. For many families, these children are the first from their families ever to get this far in school. Parents and children expect that such ‘graduates’ from school will go on to high school and college. Hardly anyone wants to go back to agriculture. On the other hand, abilities in terms of academic competencies are far lower than they should be even based on curricular expectations of class 8.
Q. Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made:
- For effective school education, parents have greater role than the governments.
- School curriculum that conforms to today’s requirements and is uniform for the entire country may address the issues brought out.
Which of the assumptions given above is/are valid?
A. 1 only
B. 2 only
C. Both 1 and 2
D. Neither 1 nor 2
Answer: D. Neither 1 nor 2
Explanation:
- Assumption 1 is invalid: The passage does not mention that parents have a greater role than the government in school education. It focuses on the academic challenges children face, but it does not discuss the relative roles of parents and government in education.
- Assumption 2 is invalid: The passage does not suggest that a uniform curriculum will solve the educational issues. It highlights the gap between expectations and outcomes, but does not advocate for a uniform national curriculum as a solution.
Q. Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea conveyed by the passage?
A. Total eradication of poverty in the country will resolve the issue of under-performance of our school-children.
B. Monetary incentives to parents and teachers is a strategy to improve the children’s academic performance.
C. Public policy should ensure that competencies and achievements of young people are aligned with their expectations.
D. India is not going to take advantage of the demographic dividend unless some school pass-outs go back to agriculture.
Answer: C. Public policy should ensure that competencies and achievements of young people are aligned with their expectations.
Explanation:
- Option A is incorrect: The passage does not link eradicating poverty with solving the under-performance of school children. It talks about the gap between academic expectations and actual outcomes, but not poverty as a direct solution.
- Option B is incorrect: The passage does not mention any monetary incentives for parents or teachers to improve academic performance.
- Option C is correct: The central idea of the passage is about the gap between students' academic performance and the expectations families have for their future. It suggests that public policy should align these competencies and achievements with their expectations.
- Option D is incorrect: The passage does not discuss students returning to agriculture or its effect on India’s demographic dividend. It focuses on academic performance and expectations.
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