UPSC Prelims 2018 · CSAT
Question 54: Reading Comprehension
With reference to the above passage, the following assumptions have been made :
- 1.India continues to be a developing country essentially due to its faulty education system.
- 2.Today's learners need to acquire new-age skill-sets.
- 3.A good number of Indians go to some developed countries for education because the educational systems there are a perfect reflection of the societies in which they function.
Which of the above assumptions is/are valid?
AnswerUPSC’s answer is (b).
The passage says India's education system follows a 19th-century mass-schooling design, made for an industrial age needing a compliant workforce with narrow skills, while today's world is complex, volatile and globally connected. So today's learners need new kinds of capability: assumption 2 is valid. Assumption 1 blames the education system for India being a developing country, and assumption 3 explains why Indians study abroad; the passage says neither.
- 1. The passage never blames the education system for India's developing status.
- 2. A complex, volatile and connected world needs capabilities beyond the old narrow set.
- 3. Why Indians study abroad is not discussed.
How you could have got this
- If you were sure statement 3 is not correct, (a), (c) and (d) go: each of them includes 3.
What you needed to know: Why Indians study abroad is not discussed.
Only (b) is left. You didn’t need statements 1 or 2.
Which options go is worked out from UPSC’s key and the options, not by a model.
Why each option is right or wrong
- (a) Neither assumption 1 nor 3 is supported.
- (b) Correct: only the need for new-age skills follows from the passage.
- (c) Assumption 3 about studying abroad is not discussed.
- (d) Assumptions 1 and 3 are not supported.
Answer: UPSC’s key. Explanation: written by UPSC Grade, not by UPSC.
Source: UPSC, Civil Services (Preliminary) Examination 2018, General Studies Paper II (CSAT), Series A. The paper on upsc.gov.in.