Read the following statement about school dropouts and the suggested courses of action, and then decide which course of action logically follows, assuming the statement is completely true. Statement: The number of dropouts in government schools has significantly increased in urban areas over the past few years. Courses of action: I. The government should immediately close down all such schools in urban areas where the dropout rate goes beyond 20 percent. II. The parents of all the students who dropped out of government schools in urban areas should be punished.

Introduction / Context:
This course of action question focuses on an increase in school dropouts from government schools in urban areas. You must judge whether the suggested actions are logical, fair, and effective responses to the problem described. The question tests your ability to reject extreme and unjust solutions even when a serious problem is presented.

Given Data / Assumptions:

• There has been a significant increase in the number of dropouts from government schools in urban areas.
• The problem has persisted over the past few years.
• We are not given specific causes of dropout, such as quality issues, economic pressure, or social problems.
• The government and parents both play roles in education, but their responsibilities are not clearly detailed in the statement.

Concept / Approach:
For a course of action to follow:

• It must be reasonable, fair, and relevant to the problem.
• It should not be excessively harsh or create new injustices.
• Actions like closing schools or punishing parents must be carefully evaluated to see if they genuinely address the cause of the problem.

We assess both suggested actions against these criteria.

Step-by-Step Solution:
Step 1: Evaluate course of action I. Closing all government schools in urban areas where dropout exceeds 20 percent is an extreme step. It would reduce educational access for children in already problematic areas and punish students who remain. The statement gives no indication that the schools themselves are beyond improvement, nor that closure would solve the underlying causes of dropout. Therefore, I does not logically follow. Step 2: Evaluate course of action II. Punishing parents of all dropout students assumes that parents are always fully responsible for dropouts. In reality, many factors such as financial constraints, school quality, peer influence, or health problems may contribute. Without evidence that parents are deliberately preventing education, punishing them is unjust and not logically supported by the statement. Step 3: Determine whether either action follows. Both actions are punitive and extreme, and neither addresses the root causes of dropout in a constructive way. Hence, neither I nor II follows. Step 4: Select the correct option. The option that states neither course of action I nor II follows is the correct answer.

Verification / Alternative check:
Consider more sensible actions that could be taken, such as improving school infrastructure, increasing teacher quality, offering support to poor families, or conducting studies to understand reasons for dropout. These would appear in a well designed reasoning question as logical courses of action. In contrast, closing schools or punishing parents do not appear to target the real problem and are likely to worsen the situation, confirming that they do not follow logically.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

• Only course of action I follows: Incorrect because closure is harsh and counterproductive.
• Only course of action II follows: Incorrect because punishment of parents is not justified by the given information.
• Either course of action I or II follows: Incorrect because both are unsuitable; the problem is not about choosing between two harsh alternatives.
• Both courses of action I and II follow: Incorrect because together they would create even greater injustice and do not address root causes.

Common Pitfalls:
A common error is to think that severe actions demonstrate seriousness and therefore must be correct. Logical reasoning questions often include such extreme options to test whether you can resist that impulse. Another pitfall is to assume parents are always at fault for dropouts without considering poverty, social challenges, or school level issues, which are frequently major factors in real life.

Final Answer:
Neither course of action I nor II follows.