Passage

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.

Question

CSATEasyPrelims 2024Comprehension

Which one of the following statements best reflects the central idea conveyed by the passage?

Explanation

Option A is incorrect:
The passage does not link the eradication of poverty to resolving under-performance in school children. It focuses on academic competencies and the gap between expectations and outcomes, but poverty is not directly addressed as a solution for this issue.

Option B is incorrect:
Monetary incentives to parents and teachers are not mentioned in the passage as a strategy for improving academic performance. The passage centers around the academic deficiencies of children and does not propose financial incentives as a solution.

Option C is correct:
The passage discusses how the academic performance of students is below expectations, while families have higher aspirations for their children's future. The need for aligning the competencies and achievements of young people with their expectations is a key theme of the passage, making this the most accurate interpretation of its central idea.

Option D is incorrect:
The passage does not suggest that students will go back to agriculture after school or that India’s demographic dividend depends on this. The focus is on academic performance and the gap between expectations and actual achievements, not on the agricultural sector.