Read the passage carefully and answer the following questions:
In order to identify potential for intellectual and educational progress, the literacy rate of a country covers the level of education and skills acquired by a country's inhabitants. Literacy is an important indicator of a country's economic progress and the standard of living - it shows how many people have access to education. However, the standards to measure literacy cannot be universally applied. Measures to identify and define illiterate inhabitants vary from country to country: In some, illiteracy is equated with no schooling at all.
Globally speaking, more men are able to read and write than women, and this disparity is also reflected in the literacy rate in India - with scarcity of schools and education in rural areas being one factor and poverty another. Especially in rural areas, women and girls are often not given proper access to formal education, and even if they are, many drop out. Today, India is already being surpassed in this area by other emerging economies, like Brazil, China and even by most other countries in the Asia - Pacific region. To catch up, India now has to offer more educational programs to its rural population, not only on how to read and write, but also on traditional gender roles.
According to the passage, which one of the following statements is correct:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 4
The correct answer is Option (4) → Even with access to formal education, many girl students drop out
The passage says that in rural areas women and girls are often not given proper access to formal education, "and even if they are, many drop out". So access alone does not keep girls in school; many of those who do get it still leave. The option repeats this point.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: Increase in population will lead to better education system — Does not hold true. Not mentioned: the passage does not mention population growth at all; it names the scarcity of schools and poverty as the causes of low literacy.
Option 2: India's literacy rate is better than that of Brazil — Does not hold true. Contradicted: the passage says the reverse: India is already being surpassed by other emerging economies like Brazil and China.
Option 3: Better school and institution are not important for the progress of any nation — Does not hold true. Contradicted: the passage links literacy to a country's economic progress and blames the scarcity of schools for low literacy, and it says India must offer more educational programmes to catch up. Schools are shown to be very important.