Passage

Directions for the following 4 (four) items : Read the following passage and answer the four items that follow. Your answers to these items should be based on the passage only. Passage It is no longer enough for us to talk about providing for universal access to education. Making available schooling facilities is an essential prerequisite, but is insufficient to ensure that all children attend school and participate in the learning process. The school may be there, but children may not attend or they may drop out after a few months. Through school and social mapping, we must address the entire gamut of social, economic, cultural and indeed linguistic and pedagogic issues, factors that prevent children from weaker sections and disadvantaged groups, as also girls, from regularly attending and complementing elementary education. The focus must be on the poorest and most vulnerable since these groups are the most disempowered and at the greatest risk of violation or denial of their right to education. The right to education goes beyond free and compulsory education to include quality education for all. Quality is an integral part of the right to education. If the education process lacks quality, children are being denied their right. The Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act lays down that the curriculum should provide for learning through activities, exploration and discovery. This places an obligation on us to change our perception of children as passive receivers of knowledge, and to move beyond the convention of using textbooks as the basis of examinations. The teaching-learning process must become stress-free; and a massive programme for curricular reform should be initiated to provide for a child-friendly learning system, that is more relevant and empowering. Teacher

According to the passage, which one of the following is critical in bringing quality in education?

(a) Ensuring regular attendance of children as well as teachers in school
(b) Giving pecuniary benefits to teachers to motivate them
(c) Understanding the socio-cultural background of children
(d) Inculcating learning through activities and discovery ✓ UPSC's answer

Why the answer is (d)

['- The passage explicitly states that the Right of Children to Free and Compulsory Education Act lays down that the curriculum should provide for learning through activities, exploration, and discovery.', '- It argues that quality is an integral part of the right to education and that if the education process lacks quality, children are being denied their right.', '- The text emphasizes moving beyond the convention of using textbooks as the basis of examinations and changing the perception of children as passive receivers of knowledge.', '- Therefore, inculcating learning through activities and discovery is identified as the critical method to ensure the quality of the teaching-learning process.', '- This aligns directly with option (d), which reflects the specific curricular requirement mentioned in the passage for achieving quality education.']

Why the other options are wrong

(a) Ensuring regular attendance of children as well as teachers in school: While the passage mentions that children may not attend or drop out, it does not identify ensuring regular attendance of teachers as the critical factor for bringing quality in education.
(b) Giving pecuniary benefits to teachers to motivate them: The passage does not mention providing pecuniary benefits to teachers as a strategy for improving the quality of education.
(c) Understanding the socio-cultural background of children: Although the passage suggests addressing social, economic, and cultural issues to ensure access, it specifically links the improvement of educational quality to the curriculum's focus on activities and discovery, not just understanding the background.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2018, held on 3 June 2018. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.