UPSC Prelims 2024 CSAT Paper II · Q42 of 79 Comprehension medium

Passage

Conventional classrooms, by emphasizing fixed duration over learning effectiveness, resign themselves to variable outcomes. The tyranny of the classroom is that every learner is subjected to the same set of lectures in the same way for the same duration. In the end, a few learners shine, some survive, and the rest are left behind. After the fixed duration, the classroom model moves on, with not a thought spared for those left behind. This is how we end up with 10 percent employability in our graduates after a decade and half of formal education. Repeating the same ineffectual script in the realm of skill education will not produce different results.

Based on the above passage, the following assumptions have been made : 1. As a large number of workers in our country are employed in unorganized sector, India does not need to change its present conventional classroom system of education. 2. Even with its present conventional classroom system of education, India produces sufficient number of skilled workers to fully realize the benefits of demographic dividend. Which of the assumptions given above is/are valid?

  1. (a) 1 only
  2. (b) 2 only
  3. (c) Both 1 and 2
  4. (d) Neither 1 nor 2 ✓ UPSC's answer

Why the answer is (d)

• The passage explicitly states that the conventional classroom model leads to variable outcomes and leaves many learners behind, resulting in only 10 percent employability among graduates.

• It argues that repeating this 'ineffectual script' in skill education will not produce different results, implying that the current system is inadequate for producing skilled workers.

• Assumption 1 is invalid because the passage criticizes the current system's failure to ensure learning effectiveness, suggesting a need for change rather than acceptance due to the unorganized sector.

• Assumption 2 is invalid because the passage highlights the low employability rate (10%) and the failure to address those left behind, contradicting the idea that the current system produces sufficient skilled workers for the demographic dividend.

• Since both assumptions contradict the passage's critique of the conventional system's ineffectiveness, neither is valid.

Why the other options are wrong

(a) 1 only
Assumption 1 is invalid because the passage argues the current system is ineffectual and leaves learners behind, necessitating change rather than justification based on the unorganized sector.
(b) 2 only
Assumption 2 is invalid because the passage cites only 10 percent graduate employability, indicating the current system fails to produce sufficient skilled workers.
(c) Both 1 and 2
Both assumptions are invalid as they contradict the passage's assertion that the conventional classroom model is ineffectual and fails to ensure learning effectiveness or adequate employability.

Asked in the CSAT Paper II of the UPSC Civil Services Preliminary Examination 2024, held on 16 June 2024. Question and answer key: Union Public Service Commission. Explanation: UPSC Answer Check.

Reading the answer is not the same as getting it right under a clock. Practise this question with UPSC's negative marking, and anything you miss goes into an error notebook until you get it right twice.

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