Read the passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best answer to each of the following questions from 2...

Read the passage and mark the letter A, B, C or D on your answer sheet to indicate the best answer to each of the following questions from 20 to 29.

Physical altercations within educational precincts are manifesting with disquieting regularity on national news broadcasts. Hostile confrontations involving pupils are recurrently documented by peers, with the resulting footage circulating rapidly across social networks. Acts of this nature frequently involve premeditated intimidation and coercion directed at specific individuals rather than random disputes. The perpetrators customarily operate in concert, utilizing numerical superiority to overwhelm a single victim. [I] The physical safety of the student body, previously assumed to be inviolable, is currently compromised by the prevalence of unchecked animosity. The learning environment effectively becomes a zone of apprehension.

Systematic ostracization and verbal harassment constitute a less visible yet equally deleterious component of the phenomenon. Victims endure a sustained campaign of derision, humiliation, and deliberate exclusion from peer groups. The psychological distress resulting from such relentless targeting often exceeds the pain of corporal injury. Academic performance deteriorates concurrently as the learner attempts to navigate a setting characterized by trepidation. [II] The instigators aim to dismantle the victim's social standing through public degradation. The cumulative effect of psychological pressure frequently leads to long-term trauma and a developed aversion to the educational institution.

Observers of these egregious events habitually adopt a passive stance instead of attempting to intercede. The "bystander effect" is intensified by the rational fear of retribution from the aggressive cohort. Adolescents witnessing the assault often choose to record the incident on mobile devices rather than summoning assistance or attempting to de-escalate the conflict. Inaction signals a collective acquiescence to the violence and inadvertently emboldens the attackers. The moral obligation to protect a vulnerable peer is subordinated to the instinct for self-preservation. [III] Consequently, the victim is left in a state of solitary defenselessness against the group.

Current disciplinary protocols utilized by administrators often prove ineffectual in curtailing aggressive behaviors. Suspensions or warnings function as temporary administrative remedies while failing to address the originating behavioral antecedents. [IV] Guardians of the offending youths frequently engage in vehement denial or attempt to minimize the gravity of the actions to protect their child's academic record. True resolution requires comprehensive psychological counseling and mediation strategies instead of simple punitive measures. Without a rigorous modification in how these incidents are managed, the school remains a place of peril. The failure to ensure safety represents a fundamental abdication of the establishment's duty to its charges.

(Adapted from The Conversation)

Question 20: According to paragraph 1, the specific tactic deployed by the instigators during school-based conflicts involves ______.

A. the swift online sharing of video evidence recorded by classmates
B. turning the academic setting into an area defined by fear
C. calculated threats aimed at the general security of the group
D. leveraging their strength in numbers to subdue a lone individual