In the following passage, some of the words have been left out. Read the passage carefully and select the correct answer for the given blank out of the four alternatives.

Education must serve as ladder for those in the lower ___(1)___ of society. In country like India there is no such ladder, and many children ___(2)___ to lead a poor quality life with no ___(3)___ to education. Seen from this perspective, the fact that there is no reference to expand the higher education sector such that it will reach the marginalised and the poor is what is actually a “___(4)___”. Including the excluded should be India’s goal, and reservation and ___(5)___ action are the way forward.