UPSC Prelims 2012 · CSAT

Question 2: Reading Comprehension

Passage beginning “Education, without a doubt, has an…” — Passage – 1 · as printed by UPSC

According to the passage, education must be respected in itself because

ait helps to acquire qualifications for employment.

bit helps in upward mobility and acquiring social status.

cit is an inner process of moral and intellectual development.

dAll the (a), (b) and (c) given above are correct in this context.

AnswerUPSC’s answer is (c).

The passage says education deserves respect for its own sake because, at bottom, it is an inner process of moral and intellectual growth, not a product one buys and consumes. Jobs, higher income and upward mobility are real benefits, but the passage treats them as use-value sitting on top of education, not as the reason to respect it. Remember: the question asks for the intrinsic reason, so the instrumental reasons are the traps.

Why each option is right or wrong

(a) Wrong. Qualifications for employment are an instrumental benefit, the very kind of justification the passage sets aside.
(b) Wrong. Upward mobility and status are also outside rewards, not the reason education is respected in itself.
(c) Right. Moral and intellectual development is the inner, intrinsic nature of education that the passage points to.
(d) Wrong. It bundles in (a) and (b), which are instrumental reasons and so go against the passage's point.

Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.

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Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2012, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.