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Directions: In question numbers 96 to 100, you have a passage with five questions following each passage. Read the passage carefully and choose the best answer to each question out of the four alternatives. It is an old saying that 'knowledge is power'. Education is an instrument which imparts knowledge and, therefore, indirectly controls power. Therefore, ever since the dawn of civilization, persons in power have always tried to supervise or control education. It has been the hand-made of the ruling class. During the Christian era, the ecclesiastics controlled the institution of education and diffused among the people the gospel of the Bible and religious teachings. These gospels and teachings were no other than a philosophy for the maintenance of the existing society. It taught the poor man to be meek and to earn his bread with the sweat of his brow, while the priests and the landlords lived in luxury and fought duels at the slightest offence. During the Renaissance, education passed more from the clutches of the priest into the hand of the prince. In other words, it became more secular. It was also due to the growth of the nation-state and powerful monarchs who united the country under their rule. Thus, under the control of the monarch, education began to devise and preach the infallibility of its masters, the monarch or king. It also invented and supported fantastic theories like the Divine Right Theory and that the king can do no wrong etc. With the advent of the Industrial Revolution, education took a different turn and had to please the new masters. It now no longer remained the privilege of the baron class but was thrown open to the new rich merchant class of society. Yet, education was still confined to the few elite. The philosophy which was in vogue during this period was that of 'Laissez Faire' restricting the function of the State to a mere keeping of law and order while, on the other hand, in practice, the law of the jungle prevailed in the form of free competition and the survival of the fittest.

Why have persons in power always tried to supervise or control education?

A) Because they wanted to educate the whole public

B) Because they wanted to deprive the common man of the benefits of education

C) Because it involved a huge expenditure on the state exchequer                       

D) Because it is an instrument of knowledge and, therefore, power.