Read the following passage and answer the given questions.
In many rural corners of India, children grow up in households where books are a luxury few can afford. The ABC Library Initiative was conceived as a solution to this stark educational disparity. Founded in 2015 by a group of educators and social entrepreneurs, the programme establishes small, community-run lending libraries in villages that lack access to formal educational resources. Each library unit—a modest wooden cabinet fitted with over two hundred books—is placed in a central community space such as a panchayat hall or a primary school. Trained local volunteers, called "Library Ambassadors," manage the daily operations, issue books, and organise weekly storytelling sessions. The books are carefully curated to include regional-language texts, picture books for early learners, and age-appropriate science and mathematics primers.
The initiative's most distinctive feature is its mobile extension: a bicycle-mounted book trolley that ambassadors push through hamlets on weekends. This mobile unit reaches children who are too young or too far from the central library. Parents have reported a remarkable shift in their children's daily habits; where evenings were once spent in idle play, many children now gather in small groups to read together. Teachers in nearby government schools observe that students enrolled in the programme demonstrate better reading comprehension and are more confident in classroom discussions.
Funding for the initiative comes from a blend of corporate social responsibility grants, individual donations, and a small annual subscription fee that village panchayats choose to pay voluntarily. The founders are deliberate about keeping the model financially lean, ensuring that at least eighty per cent of every rupee raised goes directly to books and ambassador training. Critics occasionally point out that the programme's reach is still limited—fewer than five hundred villages have been covered so far—and that sustaining volunteer enthusiasm over years remains a challenge. Yet, the ABC Library Initiative continues to expand, driven by the belief that every child, regardless of geography or income, deserves the transformative power of reading.
What challenge regarding the programme does the passage acknowledge?
Correct Answer :
Sustaining volunteer enthusiasm over many years is difficult
Solution :
To identify the challenge acknowledged in the passage, we can examine the specific details mentioned about the program's limitations and difficulties.
In the third paragraph, the text states:
"Critics occasionally point out that the programme's reach is still limited—fewer than five hundred villages have been covered so far—and that sustaining volunteer enthusiasm over years remains a challenge."
This directly matches the option: Sustaining volunteer enthusiasm over many years is difficult.
Let's analyze why the other options are incorrect based on the passage:
- The books provided are not aligned with the school curriculum: The text mentions that books include regional-language texts, picture books, and age-appropriate primers, and that school teachers observe improved comprehension in students, but it does not state that the books are not aligned with the curriculum.
- The mobile unit frequently breaks down, disrupting service: The passage describes the mobile extension (a bicycle-mounted book trolley) but does not mention any breakdown or disruption of service.
- Corporate donors have begun withdrawing funding: The passage lists corporate social responsibility grants as a source of funding but does not state that donors have started withdrawing support.
- Regional-language books are unavailable in sufficient quantity: The passage states that the books are curated to include regional-language texts, but it never mentions a shortage or difficulty in sourcing them.
Thus, the only acknowledged challenge mentioned in the text is the difficulty of sustaining volunteer enthusiasm over the years.
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