Reading Comprehension

The author of Passage 1 uses the phrase 'enthusiastic uncertainty' to suggest that the filmmakers were

Directions: The passage below is followed by a question based on its content. Answer the question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.

Passage 1

Talk to those people who first saw films when they were silent, and they will tell you the experience was magical. The silent films had extraordinary powers to draw members of an audience into the story, and an equally potent capacity to make their imaginations work. It required the audience to become engaged – to supply voices and sound effects. The audience was the final, creative contributor to the process of making a film.
The finest films of the silent era depended on two elements that we can seldom provide today – a large and receptive audience and a well–orchestrated score. For the audience, the fusion of picture and live music added up to more than the sum of the respective parts.
The one word that sums up the attitude of the silent filmmakers is enthusiasm, conveyed most strongly before formulas took shape and when there was more room for experimentation. This enthusiastic uncertainty often resulted in such accidental discoveries as new camera or editing techniques. Some films experimented with players; the 1916 film Regeneration, for example, by using real gangsters and streetwalkers, provided startling local color. Other films, particularly those of Thomas Ince, provided tragic endings as often as films by other companies supplied happy ones.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of silent films survive today in inferior prints that no longer reflect the care that the original technicians put into them. The modern versions of silent films may appear jerky and flickery, but the vast picture palaces did not attract four to six thousand people a night by giving them eyestrain. A silent film depended on its visuals; as soon as you degrade those, you lose elements that go far beyond the image on the surface. The acting in silent movies was often very subtle, very restrained, despite legends to the contrary.

Passage 2

Mime opens up a new world to the beholder, but it does so insidiously, not by purposely injecting points of interest in the manner of a tour guide. Audiences are not unlike visitors to a foreign land who discover that the modes, manners, and thoughts of its inhabitants are not meaningless oddities, but are sensible in context.
I remember once when an audience seemed perplexed at what I was doing. At first, I tried to gain a more immediate response by using slight exaggerations, I soon realized that these actions had nothing to do with the audience's understanding of the character. What I had believed to be a failure of the audience to respond in the manner, I expected was, in fact, only their concentration on: what I was doing; they were enjoying a gradual awakening – a slow transference of their understanding from their own time and place to one that appeared so unexpectedly before their eyes. This was evidenced by their growing response to succeeding numbers. Mime is an elusive art, as its expression is entirely dependent on the ability of the performer to image a character and to re–create that character for such performance. As a mime, I am a physical medium, the instrument upon which the figures of my imagination play their dance of life. The individuals in my audience also have responsibilities – they must be alert collaborators. They cannot sit back, mindlessly complacent, and wait to have their emotions titillated by mesmeric musical sounds or visual rhythms or acrobatic feats, or by words that tell them what to think. Mime is an art that, paradoxically, appeals both to those who respond instinctively to entertainment and to those whose appreciation is more analytical and complex. Between these extremes lie those audiences conditioned to resist any collaboration with what is played before them, and these the mime must seduce despite themselves. There is only one way to attack those reluctant minds – take them unaware! They will be delighted at an unexpected pleasure.

The author of Passage 2 most likely considers the contrast of mime artist and tour guide appropriate because both

Directions: The passage below is followed by a question based on its content. Answer the question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.

Passage 1

Talk to those people who first saw films when they were silent, and they will tell you the experience was magical. The silent films had extraordinary powers to draw members of an audience into the story, and an equally potent capacity to make their imaginations work. It required the audience to become engaged – to supply voices and sound effects. The audience was the final, creative contributor to the process of making a film.
The finest films of the silent era depended on two elements that we can seldom provide today – a large and receptive audience and a well–orchestrated score. For the audience, the fusion of picture and live music added up to more than the sum of the respective parts.
The one word that sums up the attitude of the silent filmmakers is enthusiasm, conveyed most strongly before formulas took shape and when there was more room for experimentation. This enthusiastic uncertainty often resulted in such accidental discoveries as new camera or editing techniques. Some films experimented with players; the 1916 film Regeneration, for example, by using real gangsters and streetwalkers, provided startling local color. Other films, particularly those of Thomas Ince, provided tragic endings as often as films by other companies supplied happy ones.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of silent films survive today in inferior prints that no longer reflect the care that the original technicians put into them. The modern versions of silent films may appear jerky and flickery, but the vast picture palaces did not attract four to six thousand people a night by giving them eyestrain. A silent film depended on its visuals; as soon as you degrade those, you lose elements that go far beyond the image on the surface. The acting in silent movies was often very subtle, very restrained, despite legends to the contrary.

Passage 2

Mime opens up a new world to the beholder, but it does so insidiously, not by purposely injecting points of interest in the manner of a tour guide. Audiences are not unlike visitors to a foreign land who discover that the modes, manners, and thoughts of its inhabitants are not meaningless oddities, but are sensible in context.
I remember once when an audience seemed perplexed at what I was doing. At first, I tried to gain a more immediate response by using slight exaggerations, I soon realized that these actions had nothing to do with the audience's understanding of the character. What I had believed to be a failure of the audience to respond in the manner, I expected was, in fact, only their concentration on: what I was doing; they were enjoying a gradual awakening – a slow transference of their understanding from their own time and place to one that appeared so unexpectedly before their eyes. This was evidenced by their growing response to succeeding numbers. Mime is an elusive art, as its expression is entirely dependent on the ability of the performer to image a character and to re–create that character for such performance. As a mime, I am a physical medium, the instrument upon which the figures of my imagination play their dance of life. The individuals in my audience also have responsibilities – they must be alert collaborators. They cannot sit back, mindlessly complacent, and wait to have their emotions titillated by mesmeric musical sounds or visual rhythms or acrobatic feats, or by words that tell them what to think. Mime is an art that, paradoxically, appeals both to those who respond instinctively to entertainment and to those whose appreciation is more analytical and complex. Between these extremes lie those audiences conditioned to resist any collaboration with what is played before them, and these the mime must seduce despite themselves. There is only one way to attack those reluctant minds – take them unaware! They will be delighted at an unexpected pleasure.

Integrating the concepts of lifelong learning with the educational structure would imply ________.

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

Educational planning should aim at meeting the educational needs of the entire population of all age groups. While the traditional structure of education as three layer hierarchy from the primary stage to the university represents the core, we should not overlook the periphery which is equally important. Under modern conditions, workers need to rewind, or renew their enthusiasm, or strike out in a new direction or improve their skills as much as any university professor. The retired and the aged have their needs as well. Educational planning, in their words, should take care of the needs of everyone.
            Our structures of education have been built up on the assumption that there is a terminal point to education. This basic defect has become all the more harmful today. A UNESCO report entitled ‘Learning to Be’ prepared by Edgar Faure & others in 1973 asserts that the education of children must prepare the future adult for various forms of self learning. A viable education system of the future should consist of modules with different kinds of functions serving a diversity of constituents. The performance, not the period of study, should be the basis for credentials. The writing is already on the wall.
            In view of the fact that the significance of a commitment of lifelong learning & lifetime education is being discussed only in recent years even in educationally advanced countries, the possibility of the idea becoming an integral part of educational thinking seems to be a far cry. For to move in that direction means more than some simple rearrangement of the present organization of education. But a good beginning can be made by developing open university programmes for older learners of different categories & introducing extension services in the conventional colleges & schools. Also these institutions should learn to cooperate with numerous community organizations such as libraries, museums, recreational programmes, health services, etc.

Which of the following is not true in context of the given passage?

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

Educational planning should aim at meeting the educational needs of the entire population of all age groups. While the traditional structure of education as three layer hierarchy from the primary stage to the university represents the core, we should not overlook the periphery which is equally important. Under modern conditions, workers need to rewind, or renew their enthusiasm, or strike out in a new direction or improve their skills as much as any university professor. The retired and the aged have their needs as well. Educational planning, in their words, should take care of the needs of everyone.
            Our structures of education have been built up on the assumption that there is a terminal point to education. This basic defect has become all the more harmful today. A UNESCO report entitled ‘Learning to Be’ prepared by Edgar Faure & others in 1973 asserts that the education of children must prepare the future adult for various forms of self learning. A viable education system of the future should consist of modules with different kinds of functions serving a diversity of constituents. The performance, not the period of study, should be the basis for credentials. The writing is already on the wall.
            In view of the fact that the significance of a commitment of lifelong learning & lifetime education is being discussed only in recent years even in educationally advanced countries, the possibility of the idea becoming an integral part of educational thinking seems to be a far cry. For to move in that direction means more than some simple rearrangement of the present organization of education. But a good beginning can be made by developing open university programmes for older learners of different categories & introducing extension services in the conventional colleges & schools. Also these institutions should learn to cooperate with numerous community organizations such as libraries, museums, recreational programmes, health services, etc.

According to the author, the concept of lifetime education is ___________.

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

Educational planning should aim at meeting the educational needs of the entire population of all age groups. While the traditional structure of education as three layer hierarchy from the primary stage to the university represents the core, we should not overlook the periphery which is equally important. Under modern conditions, workers need to rewind, or renew their enthusiasm, or strike out in a new direction or improve their skills as much as any university professor. The retired and the aged have their needs as well. Educational planning, in their words, should take care of the needs of everyone.
            Our structures of education have been built up on the assumption that there is a terminal point to education. This basic defect has become all the more harmful today. A UNESCO report entitled ‘Learning to Be’ prepared by Edgar Faure & others in 1973 asserts that the education of children must prepare the future adult for various forms of self learning. A viable education system of the future should consist of modules with different kinds of functions serving a diversity of constituents. The performance, not the period of study, should be the basis for credentials. The writing is already on the wall.
            In view of the fact that the significance of a commitment of lifelong learning & lifetime education is being discussed only in recent years even in educationally advanced countries, the possibility of the idea becoming an integral part of educational thinking seems to be a far cry. For to move in that direction means more than some simple rearrangement of the present organization of education. But a good beginning can be made by developing open university programmes for older learners of different categories & introducing extension services in the conventional colleges & schools. Also these institutions should learn to cooperate with numerous community organizations such as libraries, museums, recreational programmes, health services, etc.

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

Which of the following is most nearly the same in meaning to the word meeting as used in the passage?

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

Educational planning should aim at meeting the educational needs of the entire population of all age groups. While the traditional structure of education as three layer hierarchy from the primary stage to the university represents the core, we should not overlook the periphery which is equally important. Under modern conditions, workers need to rewind, or renew their enthusiasm, or strike out in a new direction or improve their skills as much as any university professor. The retired and the aged have their needs as well. Educational planning, in their words, should take care of the needs of everyone.
            Our structures of education have been built up on the assumption that there is a terminal point to education. This basic defect has become all the more harmful today. A UNESCO report entitled ‘Learning to Be’ prepared by Edgar Faure & others in 1973 asserts that the education of children must prepare the future adult for various forms of self learning. A viable education system of the future should consist of modules with different kinds of functions serving a diversity of constituents. The performance, not the period of study, should be the basis for credentials. The writing is already on the wall.
            In view of the fact that the significance of a commitment of lifelong learning & lifetime education is being discussed only in recent years even in educationally advanced countries, the possibility of the idea becoming an integral part of educational thinking seems to be a far cry. For to move in that direction means more than some simple rearrangement of the present organization of education. But a good beginning can be made by developing open university programmes for older learners of different categories & introducing extension services in the conventional colleges & schools. Also these institutions should learn to cooperate with numerous community organizations such as libraries, museums, recreational programmes, health services, etc.

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

In the context of the passage, what is the meaning of the sentence 'The writing is on the wall'?

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

Educational planning should aim at meeting the educational needs of the entire population of all age groups. While the traditional structure of education as three layer hierarchy from the primary stage to the university represents the core, we should not overlook the periphery which is equally important. Under modern conditions, workers need to rewind, or renew their enthusiasm, or strike out in a new direction or improve their skills as much as any university professor. The retired and the aged have their needs as well. Educational planning, in their words, should take care of the needs of everyone.
            Our structures of education have been built up on the assumption that there is a terminal point to education. This basic defect has become all the more harmful today. A UNESCO report entitled ‘Learning to Be’ prepared by Edgar Faure & others in 1973 asserts that the education of children must prepare the future adult for various forms of self learning. A viable education system of the future should consist of modules with different kinds of functions serving a diversity of constituents. The performance, not the period of study, should be the basis for credentials. The writing is already on the wall.
            In view of the fact that the significance of a commitment of lifelong learning & lifetime education is being discussed only in recent years even in educationally advanced countries, the possibility of the idea becoming an integral part of educational thinking seems to be a far cry. For to move in that direction means more than some simple rearrangement of the present organization of education. But a good beginning can be made by developing open university programmes for older learners of different categories & introducing extension services in the conventional colleges & schools. Also these institutions should learn to cooperate with numerous community organizations such as libraries, museums, recreational programmes, health services, etc.

According to the author, what measures should open university adopt to meet modern conditions?

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

Educational planning should aim at meeting the educational needs of the entire population of all age groups. While the traditional structure of education as three layer hierarchy from the primary stage to the university represents the core, we should not overlook the periphery which is equally important. Under modern conditions, workers need to rewind, or renew their enthusiasm, or strike out in a new direction or improve their skills as much as any university professor. The retired and the aged have their needs as well. Educational planning, in their words, should take care of the needs of everyone.
            Our structures of education have been built up on the assumption that there is a terminal point to education. This basic defect has become all the more harmful today. A UNESCO report entitled ‘Learning to Be’ prepared by Edgar Faure & others in 1973 asserts that the education of children must prepare the future adult for various forms of self learning. A viable education system of the future should consist of modules with different kinds of functions serving a diversity of constituents. The performance, not the period of study, should be the basis for credentials. The writing is already on the wall.
            In view of the fact that the significance of a commitment of lifelong learning & lifetime education is being discussed only in recent years even in educationally advanced countries, the possibility of the idea becoming an integral part of educational thinking seems to be a far cry. For to move in that direction means more than some simple rearrangement of the present organization of education. But a good beginning can be made by developing open university programmes for older learners of different categories & introducing extension services in the conventional colleges & schools. Also these institutions should learn to cooperate with numerous community organizations such as libraries, museums, recreational programmes, health services, etc.

According to the author, educational plan should attempt to __________.

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

Educational planning should aim at meeting the educational needs of the entire population of all age groups. While the traditional structure of education as three layer hierarchy from the primary stage to the university represents the core, we should not overlook the periphery which is equally important. Under modern conditions, workers need to rewind, or renew their enthusiasm, or strike out in a new direction or improve their skills as much as any university professor. The retired and the aged have their needs as well. Educational planning, in their words, should take care of the needs of everyone.
            Our structures of education have been built up on the assumption that there is a terminal point to education. This basic defect has become all the more harmful today. A UNESCO report entitled ‘Learning to Be’ prepared by Edgar Faure & others in 1973 asserts that the education of children must prepare the future adult for various forms of self learning. A viable education system of the future should consist of modules with different kinds of functions serving a diversity of constituents. The performance, not the period of study, should be the basis for credentials. The writing is already on the wall.
            In view of the fact that the significance of a commitment of lifelong learning & lifetime education is being discussed only in recent years even in educationally advanced countries, the possibility of the idea becoming an integral part of educational thinking seems to be a far cry. For to move in that direction means more than some simple rearrangement of the present organization of education. But a good beginning can be made by developing open university programmes for older learners of different categories & introducing extension services in the conventional colleges & schools. Also these institutions should learn to cooperate with numerous community organizations such as libraries, museums, recreational programmes, health services, etc.

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

According to the author, what should be the basis for awarding credentials?

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

Educational planning should aim at meeting the educational needs of the entire population of all age groups. While the traditional structure of education as three layer hierarchy from the primary stage to the university represents the core, we should not overlook the periphery which is equally important. Under modern conditions, workers need to rewind, or renew their enthusiasm, or strike out in a new direction or improve their skills as much as any university professor. The retired and the aged have their needs as well. Educational planning, in their words, should take care of the needs of everyone.
            Our structures of education have been built up on the assumption that there is a terminal point to education. This basic defect has become all the more harmful today. A UNESCO report entitled ‘Learning to Be’ prepared by Edgar Faure & others in 1973 asserts that the education of children must prepare the future adult for various forms of self learning. A viable education system of the future should consist of modules with different kinds of functions serving a diversity of constituents. The performance, not the period of study, should be the basis for credentials. The writing is already on the wall.
            In view of the fact that the significance of a commitment of lifelong learning & lifetime education is being discussed only in recent years even in educationally advanced countries, the possibility of the idea becoming an integral part of educational thinking seems to be a far cry. For to move in that direction means more than some simple rearrangement of the present organization of education. But a good beginning can be made by developing open university programmes for older learners of different categories & introducing extension services in the conventional colleges & schools. Also these institutions should learn to cooperate with numerous community organizations such as libraries, museums, recreational programmes, health services, etc.

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

What is the main theme of the passage?

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

Educational planning should aim at meeting the educational needs of the entire population of all age groups. While the traditional structure of education as three layer hierarchy from the primary stage to the university represents the core, we should not overlook the periphery which is equally important. Under modern conditions, workers need to rewind, or renew their enthusiasm, or strike out in a new direction or improve their skills as much as any university professor. The retired and the aged have their needs as well. Educational planning, in their words, should take care of the needs of everyone.
            Our structures of education have been built up on the assumption that there is a terminal point to education. This basic defect has become all the more harmful today. A UNESCO report entitled ‘Learning to Be’ prepared by Edgar Faure & others in 1973 asserts that the education of children must prepare the future adult for various forms of self learning. A viable education system of the future should consist of modules with different kinds of functions serving a diversity of constituents. The performance, not the period of study, should be the basis for credentials. The writing is already on the wall.
            In view of the fact that the significance of a commitment of lifelong learning & lifetime education is being discussed only in recent years even in educationally advanced countries, the possibility of the idea becoming an integral part of educational thinking seems to be a far cry. For to move in that direction means more than some simple rearrangement of the present organization of education. But a good beginning can be made by developing open university programmes for older learners of different categories & introducing extension services in the conventional colleges & schools. Also these institutions should learn to cooperate with numerous community organizations such as libraries, museums, recreational programmes, health services, etc.

According to the passage, what is the main contribution of Mahatma Gandhi in the field of political education?

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

Political education may be defined as the preparation of a citizen to take well informed, responsible and sustained action for participation in the national struggle for the realisation of the socio-economic objectives of the country. The overriding socio-economic objectives in India are the abolition of poverty and the creation of a modern democratic, secular and socialist society in place of the present traditional, feudal, hierarchical and inegalitarian one.

Under the British rule, the congress leaders argued that political education was an important part of education and refused to accept the official view that education and politics should not be mixed with one another. But when they came to power in 1947 they almost adopted the British policy and began to talk of education being defiled by politics. ‘Hands off education‘ was the call to political parties of that time. But in spite of it, political infiltration into the educational system has greatly increased in the sense that different parties vie with each other to capture the minds of teachers and students. The wise academicians wanted political support, without political interference. What we have actually received is infinite political interference. This interference with the educational system by political parties for their own ulterior motives is no political education at all; and with the all round growth of elitism, it is hardly surprising that real political education within the school system (which really means the creation of a commitment to social transformation) has been even weaker than in the pre-independence period.

At the same time, the freedom struggle came to an end and the major non-formal agency of political education disappeared. The press could and did provide some political education. But it did not utilise the opportunity to the fullest and the stranglehold of vested interests continued to dominate it. The same can be said about political parties as well as about other institutions and agencies outside the school system which can be expected to provide political education. All things considered, it appears that we have made no genuine progress in political education in the post independence period and even slid back in some respects. For instance, the education system has become even more elite-oriented. Patriotism has become the first casualty. Gandhiji gave us the courage to oppose the government when it was wrong, in a disciplined fashion and on basic principles. He believed the means to be as important as the ends and taught us to work among the poor people for mobilising and organising them. Today we have even lost the courage to fight on basic issues in a disciplined manner because agitation and anarchic politics for individual, group or party aggrandisement has become common. The education system of today continues to support domination of the privileged groups and domestication of the underprivileged ones. The situation will not change unless we take vigorous steps to provide genuine political education on an adequate scale. This is one of the major educational reforms we need; and if it is not carried out, mere linear expansion of the existing system of normal education will only support the status quo and hamper radical social transformation.

How has politics been related to educational institutions after independence?

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

Political education may be defined as the preparation of a citizen to take well informed, responsible and sustained action for participation in the national struggle for the realisation of the socio-economic objectives of the country. The overriding socio-economic objectives in India are the abolition of poverty and the creation of a modern democratic, secular and socialist society in place of the present traditional, feudal, hierarchical and inegalitarian one.

Under the British rule, the congress leaders argued that political education was an important part of education and refused to accept the official view that education and politics should not be mixed with one another. But when they came to power in 1947 they almost adopted the British policy and began to talk of education being defiled by politics. ‘Hands off education‘ was the call to political parties of that time. But in spite of it, political infiltration into the educational system has greatly increased in the sense that different parties vie with each other to capture the minds of teachers and students. The wise academicians wanted political support, without political interference. What we have actually received is infinite political interference. This interference with the educational system by political parties for their own ulterior motives is no political education at all; and with the all round growth of elitism, it is hardly surprising that real political education within the school system (which really means the creation of a commitment to social transformation) has been even weaker than in the pre-independence period.

At the same time, the freedom struggle came to an end and the major non-formal agency of political education disappeared. The press could and did provide some political education. But it did not utilise the opportunity to the fullest and the stranglehold of vested interests continued to dominate it. The same can be said about political parties as well as about other institutions and agencies outside the school system which can be expected to provide political education. All things considered, it appears that we have made no genuine progress in political education in the post independence period and even slid back in some respects. For instance, the education system has become even more elite-oriented. Patriotism has become the first casualty. Gandhiji gave us the courage to oppose the government when it was wrong, in a disciplined fashion and on basic principles. He believed the means to be as important as the ends and taught us to work among the poor people for mobilising and organising them. Today we have even lost the courage to fight on basic issues in a disciplined manner because agitation and anarchic politics for individual, group or party aggrandisement has become common. The education system of today continues to support domination of the privileged groups and domestication of the underprivileged ones. The situation will not change unless we take vigorous steps to provide genuine political education on an adequate scale. This is one of the major educational reforms we need; and if it is not carried out, mere linear expansion of the existing system of normal education will only support the status quo and hamper radical social transformation.

Which of the following statements is not true?

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

Political education may be defined as the preparation of a citizen to take well informed, responsible and sustained action for participation in the national struggle for the realisation of the socio-economic objectives of the country. The overriding socio-economic objectives in India are the abolition of poverty and the creation of a modern democratic, secular and socialist society in place of the present traditional, feudal, hierarchical and inegalitarian one.

Under the British rule, the congress leaders argued that political education was an important part of education and refused to accept the official view that education and politics should not be mixed with one another. But when they came to power in 1947 they almost adopted the British policy and began to talk of education being defiled by politics. ‘Hands off education‘ was the call to political parties of that time. But in spite of it, political infiltration into the educational system has greatly increased in the sense that different parties vie with each other to capture the minds of teachers and students. The wise academicians wanted political support, without political interference. What we have actually received is infinite political interference. This interference with the educational system by political parties for their own ulterior motives is no political education at all; and with the all round growth of elitism, it is hardly surprising that real political education within the school system (which really means the creation of a commitment to social transformation) has been even weaker than in the pre-independence period.

At the same time, the freedom struggle came to an end and the major non-formal agency of political education disappeared. The press could and did provide some political education. But it did not utilise the opportunity to the fullest and the stranglehold of vested interests continued to dominate it. The same can be said about political parties as well as about other institutions and agencies outside the school system which can be expected to provide political education. All things considered, it appears that we have made no genuine progress in political education in the post independence period and even slid back in some respects. For instance, the education system has become even more elite-oriented. Patriotism has become the first casualty. Gandhiji gave us the courage to oppose the government when it was wrong, in a disciplined fashion and on basic principles. He believed the means to be as important as the ends and taught us to work among the poor people for mobilising and organising them. Today we have even lost the courage to fight on basic issues in a disciplined manner because agitation and anarchic politics for individual, group or party aggrandisement has become common. The education system of today continues to support domination of the privileged groups and domestication of the underprivileged ones. The situation will not change unless we take vigorous steps to provide genuine political education on an adequate scale. This is one of the major educational reforms we need; and if it is not carried out, mere linear expansion of the existing system of normal education will only support the status quo and hamper radical social transformation.

According to the passage, political education in the real sense should

Directions: Read the passage to answer the question given below.

Political education may be defined as the preparation of a citizen to take well informed, responsible and sustained action for participation in the national struggle for the realisation of the socio-economic objectives of the country. The overriding socio-economic objectives in India are the abolition of poverty and the creation of a modern democratic, secular and socialist society in place of the present traditional, feudal, hierarchical and inegalitarian one.

Under the British rule, the congress leaders argued that political education was an important part of education and refused to accept the official view that education and politics should not be mixed with one another. But when they came to power in 1947 they almost adopted the British policy and began to talk of education being defiled by politics. ‘Hands off education‘ was the call to political parties of that time. But in spite of it, political infiltration into the educational system has greatly increased in the sense that different parties vie with each other to capture the minds of teachers and students. The wise academicians wanted political support, without political interference. What we have actually received is infinite political interference. This interference with the educational system by political parties for their own ulterior motives is no political education at all; and with the all round growth of elitism, it is hardly surprising that real political education within the school system (which really means the creation of a commitment to social transformation) has been even weaker than in the pre-independence period.

At the same time, the freedom struggle came to an end and the major non-formal agency of political education disappeared. The press could and did provide some political education. But it did not utilise the opportunity to the fullest and the stranglehold of vested interests continued to dominate it. The same can be said about political parties as well as about other institutions and agencies outside the school system which can be expected to provide political education. All things considered, it appears that we have made no genuine progress in political education in the post independence period and even slid back in some respects. For instance, the education system has become even more elite-oriented. Patriotism has become the first casualty. Gandhiji gave us the courage to oppose the government when it was wrong, in a disciplined fashion and on basic principles. He believed the means to be as important as the ends and taught us to work among the poor people for mobilising and organising them. Today we have even lost the courage to fight on basic issues in a disciplined manner because agitation and anarchic politics for individual, group or party aggrandisement has become common. The education system of today continues to support domination of the privileged groups and domestication of the underprivileged ones. The situation will not change unless we take vigorous steps to provide genuine political education on an adequate scale. This is one of the major educational reforms we need; and if it is not carried out, mere linear expansion of the existing system of normal education will only support the status quo and hamper radical social transformation.