Cause–effect reasoning on education fees — parents’’ agitation against high unaided-institution fees last year versus the government’s recent decision to fix much lower fees: determine which statement is the cause and which is the effect

Given data

• I: Government has recently fixed fees for unaided professional courses much lower than last year.
• II: Parents launched a severe agitation last year protesting the high fees of unaided institutions.

Concept/Approach

Policy corrections often follow public pressure. The temporal order (agitation last year → decision recently) supports II → I.

Step-by-step classification
1) The agitation (II) provides impetus and justification for regulatory fee caps.2) The government decision (I) is the responsive outcome ⇒ II is the cause, I is the effect.

Verification/Alternative

Had there been no agitation, a sharp fee reduction would require another stated cause; none is provided.

Common pitfalls

• Reversing cause and effect due to recency bias.

Final Answer
Statement II is the cause and statement I is its effect.