Statements: Recent trends also indicate that the number of child migrants in…
2023
Statements: Recent trends also indicate that the number of child migrants in large cities is increasing. These children leave their families to join the ranks of urban poor doing odd jobs in markets, workshops, hotels or in service sectors.
Conclusions:
Migration to big cities should be checked.
The plight of poor children should be thoroughly studied.
- A.
Only conclusion I follows
- B.
Only conclusion II follows
- C.
Either I or II follows
- D.
Neither I nor II follows
Show answer & explanation
Correct answer: D
Concept: In a statement-conclusion question, a conclusion follows ONLY if it is a certain fact that must be true given the statement, using nothing beyond what is stated. A recommendation or course of action — anything phrased as ‘X should be done’ — is a policy opinion, not a fact, and an ‘ought’ can never be logically forced by an ‘is’; so a proposed action never counts as a conclusion, however sensible it may sound.
Application: The statement here only records a trend — that child migration to large cities is increasing, and that these children end up doing informal, odd jobs to survive. It makes no claim about whether this trend is desirable or harmful, whether migration must be curbed, or that any particular follow-up action (such as a study) is required. Both conclusions recommend an action, so applying the test above, neither is entailed by the statement.
Contrast with the other options:
Only conclusion I follows — wrongly elevates ‘migration should be checked’ into a certain fact, when it is a policy stance the statement never takes.
Only conclusion II follows — wrongly elevates ‘the plight should be studied’ into a certain fact, when the statement gives no basis to demand that particular follow-up.
Either I or II follows — this pairing needs the two conclusions to be mutually exclusive alternatives about one fact; checking migration and studying children’s plight are independent proposals, not alternatives to each other, so this option does not hold.
Cross-check: Accept every word of the statement as true and it is still possible to disagree with either recommendation — for example, one could accept that child migration is rising and argue it should be supported with services rather than ‘checked’. Because a genuine conclusion must leave no room for such reasonable disagreement, neither proposed conclusion clears that bar.
Result: Neither conclusion I nor conclusion II follows from the statement.