Question

Which of the categories had either a consistent growth or a consistent decline in the period shown?

• A. Primary
• B. Secondary
• C. Higher secondary
• D. Graduate Level

Hint:

To check for consistency, look for monotonic increase or decrease with no reversals in the sequence of values.

Answer 1

The Correct Option is D

We examine year-by-year for each category:
Primary: 42137 $\rightarrow$ 53568 (up) $\rightarrow$ 58770 (up) $\rightarrow$ 56872 (down) — break in trend.
Secondary: 8820 $\rightarrow$ 10285 (up) $\rightarrow$ 16437 (up) $\rightarrow$ 15475 (down) — break in trend.
Higher Secondary: 65303 $\rightarrow$ 71602 (up) $\rightarrow$ 73667 (up) $\rightarrow$ 71668 (down) — break in trend.
Graduate: 25343 $\rightarrow$ 27930 (up) $\rightarrow$ 28687 (up) $\rightarrow$ 30057 (up) $\rightarrow$ 33682 (up) $\rightarrow$ 36697 (up) — consistent growth every year.
Thus, only Graduate Level has consistent growth.
Checking incorrect options:
(A) Primary — one year shows a drop, so not consistent.
(B) Secondary — also has a drop.
(C) Higher Secondary — has a drop after 1977.
\(\boxed{\text{Correct Answer: (D) Graduate Level}}\)