Study the data of a State given below and answer the question that follow :
Educational achievement of rural population of State
Category | Males | Females
I. Literacy rate of rural population | 76% | 54%
II. Literacy rate of rural children in age group of 10-14 years | 90% | 87%
III. Percentage of rural children aged 10-14 years attending school | 85% | 82%
If rural children aged 10-14 years are considered, then how many female children are attending school ?
Study the data of a State given below and answer the question that follow :
Educational achievement of rural population of State
Category | Males | Females
I. Literacy rate of rural population | 76% | 54%
II. Literacy rate of rural children in age group of 10-14 years | 90% | 87%
III. Percentage of rural children aged 10-14 years attending school | 85% | 82%
If rural children aged 10-14 years are considered, then how many female children are attending school ?
Options
C) 82% — this is the value directly stated in row III of the table for rural female children aged 10-14 years attending school.
Marking Scheme
- 11 mark for selecting option C (82), which is the female value directly given in row III of the table for 'percentage of rural children aged 10-14 years attending school'.
Hint
Read row III (percentage attending school), female column — do not mix it up with row II (literacy rate) or the male column.
Quick Oral Answer
The table's row III already gives female school attendance for 10-14 year olds as 82%, so no calculation is needed — the answer is simply read off the table.
Analysis & Explanation
This data-table MCQ from the 'Development' chapter tests careful reading, not calculation.
Concept
- Row III directly gives 'percentage of rural children aged 10-14 years attending school': 85% males, 82% females.
Key points
- The question asks for female attendance, so the correct cell is 82% (row III, female column).
Common mistakes
- Option A (90) mixes up row II (literacy, not attendance) with the male column.
- Option B (85) picks the correct row but the wrong gender (male instead of female).
- Option D (83) is a fabricated value not present in the table.
Real-world
- Highlights that literacy rate and school attendance are related but distinct indicators, and gender gaps often persist in rural education.
Common Mistakes
- 1Picking option A (90), which is actually the male literacy rate of rural children aged 10-14 (row II) — not a female value at all — thereby confusing both the wrong gender and literacy with school attendance.
- 2Picking option B (85), which is the male school-attendance figure, not the female one asked in the question.
- 3Not reading the table row-by-row carefully and instead guessing based on the 'largest' or 'most familiar' looking number.
Interesting Facts
Such literacy-versus-attendance tables are used in NCERT's Development chapter to show that being counted as 'literate' does not always mean a child is currently attending school, and vice versa.
National data (e.g., ASER reports) has repeatedly shown that rural female school attendance, while improving over decades, still tends to lag slightly behind male attendance in many Indian states.
Spotted a mistake or something unclear?
Tell us — we fix reported answers fast.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is 90% not the correct answer?
90% is the male literacy rate of rural children aged 10-14 (row II); the corresponding female literacy rate in that row is 87%. Neither is the school-attendance figure asked for — the question needs the female value from row III (attendance), which is 82%.
What does the table tell us about gender gaps in rural education?
It shows that in each category — overall literacy, child literacy, and school attendance — female figures are consistently lower than male figures, indicating a persistent rural gender gap in education.