A state government is deciding whether to fund scholarships for poor children, though the direct gains in their earnings may be small at first. Which of the following ideas best supports funding the scholarships?
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 1
The correct answer is Option (1) → Alfred Marshall: the value of spending on education is not measured by its direct fruits alone, as it brings out the latent abilities of many.
Marshall held that education lets many people bring out their hidden abilities, so its value is more than its direct fruits.
Option (1) Alfred Marshall: the value of spending on education is not measured by its direct fruits alone, as it brings out the latent abilities of many. — Correct. It supports spending even when quick gains are small.
Option (2) The human capital view: any investment in education is unproductive if it does not enhance the output of goods and services. — Incorrect. This view would argue against the scholarships, since their early gains are small.
Option (3) National Education Policy 2020: with the rise of artificial intelligence, many unskilled jobs worldwide may be taken over by machines. — Incorrect. It is about the future need for skills, not about spending whose gains come late.
Option (4) The debate on India as a knowledge economy: the value of information technology depends greatly on the existing level of economic development. — Incorrect. It is about the value of IT, not education spending on poor children.
NCERT (2026-27): “‘… the wisdom of expending public and private funds on education is not to be measured by its direct fruits alone. It will be profitable as a mere investment, to give the masses of people much greater opportunities than they can generally avail themselves of. For by this means many, who would have died unknown, are enabled to get the start needed for bringing out their latent abilities’.” “4.4 Human Capital and Human Development … Human capital treats human beings as a means to an end; the end being the increase in productivity. In this view, any investment in education and health is unproductive if it does not enhance output of goods and services. …” |