Widening participation equity measure – UGC NET Question

Reservation, scholarships and academic support are classic instruments for widening participation—expanding access to higher education for groups historically excluded or under-represented. The stem lists such measures, so “widening” participation is the correct completion.

Option A:
Option A is correct because widening participation explicitly denotes increasing the social and demographic range of students who can enter and succeed in higher education.

Option B:
Option B is incorrect as elite participation would restrict higher education to a small privileged group, contradicting the equity goals of the policies mentioned.

Option C:
Option C is wrong since closed participation implies strong barriers and limited access, the opposite of what these inclusivity measures seek to achieve.

Option D:
Option D is incorrect because a purely market approach would rely heavily on ability to pay, often worsening inequalities rather than reducing them.