What is the Future of the Wavering Student? - Guru Shyama Khyapa's Warning

Interviewer: Greetings, Baba.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Greetings. Speak.

Interviewer: Regarding the current decline in education that we are seeing—there are protests in front of every school. The reasons for these protests are things people might never have imagined before. For instance, the Madhyamik (10th grade) results came out on July 20th, and there were about 250 names in the top ten list. Then the Higher Secondary (12th grade) results came out a few days later, and there were 87 names in the top ten. Now, while 100% passed the Madhyamik, a small percentage were failed in the Higher Secondary, and they are protesting.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Yes, the protests are happening. This is indeed occurring.

Interviewer: Given this chaotic situation, what is the future for these students?

Guru Shyama Khyapa: I have my doubts about whether any college will even admit them. I have some doubts. My feeling is that colleges won't take them because these marks were given without any hard work, without proper evaluation. They just looked at previous performance and assigned numbers.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Now, look at those previous records—many who were good students before have become poor students now. I saw a case where someone who stood first in the Madhyamik isn't even on the list for the Higher Secondary. It's a strange matter. These are the government's games. I would say the government is playing with education. A boy who stood first in the Madhyamik—the government declared him first—yet that same boy has no name in the Higher Secondary list. What can you say to that? What can you expect?

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Do you know what's happening now? Teachers are being handpicked and told to find some poor kid or someone making paper bags and just make them stand first. It has reached an unbearable state. Education is the backbone of a nation, and that backbone is now broken. Education is finished, and the backbone is broken. No one can hold their head high and speak up anymore.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: No, this has happened. It's a reality. I won't just blame the government; perhaps it's due to this illness, COVID-19. The government asks, "Who will take the responsibility?" If I run a school and there is an infection or people get sick, who takes the blame? Everyone would point fingers at us. So, where can the government go?

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Before this, you saw there was a "vote." In that vote, they decided to pass everyone without exams with 80% to 85% marks. Because those students were relieved—they thought, "I've moved from 10th to 11th" or "11th to 12th." But this isn't right. This is fundamentally wrong. I don't see anything good in this. Education is the nation's backbone. That backbone is broken now. And those who passed this time... I don't know what's in their fate. I don't even know if colleges will take them. It's not authentic. There is a difference between earning marks through an exam and just being handed marks without one. This cannot be accepted.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: The government did a "vote," and in that vote, "boys" won. Parents voted. They were worried that a year or two would be wasted, so they thought it's better to just pass them. This mentality has set in. Parents just want to see their children pass.

Interviewer: Gurudev, if we look at the results based on the numbers, compared to last year, the pass rate has almost doubled in every subject.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Exactly! You can certainly say that. That is an established fact.

Interviewer: And those in Madhyamik who got less than 500 marks are now being shown with over 500...

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Where did those 500 marks come from? 500 marks without an exam? Did they just remember what they ate for lunch on a previous day and give them marks based on that? Is this how it works? This is just cleverness. It's a trick played on the field of education. You can't achieve greatness through such tricks. It's a government policy. They could have thought of something else.

Interviewer: And Gurudev, in the current situation, even though they passed, they don't have the required marks for college admissions in many cases...

Guru Shyama Khyapa: No, they won't be able to say anything. And those who are "first" today won't have their names remembered tomorrow. That's the most surprising part. They are jumping with joy, saying "I got a first division" or "I got three letters" without an exam. For a student, it might feel like a moment of joy, but this is poison. It's equivalent to poison. The government could have done it differently. There were many other ways, but I don't understand why they chose this path. It's beyond my comprehension. Education is the backbone, and that backbone was broken. It was intentionally broken. The consequences will be terrible.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Look, this government is here today, but it might be gone tomorrow. Another government will come. But these students will suffer. The decisions this government made will affect them. When this government leaves and the next one comes, they might not even recognize these results. There's no guarantee this government will stay forever. Today or tomorrow, like the CPM left after 35 years, this government will fall too. But what will happen to the future of these boys? They have a future—what becomes of it?

Interviewer: And Gurudev, another frightening thing is that there was no evaluation today. Given the job situation in West Bengal and India, they will eventually have to face a real evaluation or exam.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Then they will fail miserably. They will fail completely. It can't happen any other way. They will fail outright.

Interviewer: Gurudev, there was a saying that education and politics should be separate. But merging them has caused a lot of damage. Now they are giving out tabs (tablets) and 10,000 to 12,000 rupees. We don't know how many it actually helped, but even after all that, no exams were taken.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Exactly. Who needs exams? Give them cycles, give them tabs, give them money—that is "education" now. People will say, "I got a cycle." They'll say, "To hell with exams and marks, I got a cycle from the government." This is what will surface. These things were done to cover up the real issues. This is the government's policy. Greatness isn't achieved through tricks. Mark my words.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: But it's happening. The government will say, "What can we do? We held a vote, and we did what the parents wanted." Many such arguments will be made. But what was the final result? The result is zero. If you test these students again, you won't even find their names. Every single one of them will fail.

Interviewer: Gurudev, it used to be that what was taught in 9th grade continued into 10th. If you didn't study the 9th grade curriculum, you couldn't handle the 10th.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Of course.

Interviewer: Same for the 11th and 12th. If you studied well in the 11th, your 12th results would be good. But now, for a whole year, there has been no culture of studying.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: None at all.

Interviewer: Then suddenly, a result is given based on "voting." Our Honorable Chief Minister said on the news that a poll was conducted where 2.5 lakh people voted, and 80% were against holding exams.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Yes, I know. It was mentioned. I'm telling you, there was a vote; I know all about it. But where can the government go? They took a decision, and it was a bad one. They have ruined the children's minds. Parents didn't understand, and the government didn't either. I am telling you, the future consequences will be terrifying. Greatness doesn't come from tricks.

Interviewer: Gurudev, the future of the country depends on exams like the Joint Entrance or Medical exams.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Not a single doctor will be produced. I'm telling you this now. Not a single barrister will be produced. What will they do? Do you think they'll become doctors or barristers? How can you even expect that? It's wrong to even hope for it. The damage has been done at the highest level. This "education" that took place will ruin many students. Those who had dreams will see them washed away.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Many won't even be able to accept this. If they had taken an exam, they might have struggled to get 30 marks, and now they have 90. Many boys come to me and say they are not satisfied. They are not happy with this. But the government has its rules, and things will work according to those rules. What more can I say?

Interviewer: Gurudev, this has also harmed those who were actually good at studying. By putting everyone in the same bracket, their value has also been diminished.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Exactly! Rice and husks have been mixed together. You won't be able to separate them now. There's nothing left to do.

Interviewer: Consequently, there is no difference between those who got good marks before and those who got them now.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: None at all. What difference could there be? And those who take exams in the future will fail miserably. Right now, they think they will just breeze through college like this. They are making a mistake. There are bigger exams ahead. This was just the base. Higher Secondary is the base. Everything is built on that. If the base itself is broken, how will they rise? The ladder to move up has been broken by the government. COVID-19 is certainly a reason, but the government should have thought more carefully about this decision. Millions of futures have been toyed with. It was just a game. If elections can be held with such pomp, why is the government so indifferent toward exams? Back then, there were so many processes and security measures, but now they are completely indifferent and just released a result. This has dragged the good students down into the same group as the rest. Rice and husks are now one.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: The government thinks, "I am safe. I released the results and I'm safe." But this government will stay for five years—what happens after that? That should have been considered. Today, Jyoti Babu (former CM Jyoti Basu) is gone, and no one even mentions his name. No one! For one reason only: bad policies.

Interviewer: Gurudev, a news report came out recently—you always say West Bengal has become a graveyard for jobs—at NRS Hospital, for a "dome" (morgue worker) job, nearly 30 engineers applied.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Think about that!

Interviewer: So when this current batch, who passed without evaluation, enters the vast sea of the job market...

Guru Shyama Khyapa: They will join political parties! What else? They'll stick to a party. Whether they are engineers or whatever, they don't need all that. They'll throw money, become doctors, get admissions, and then work as engineers or "domes." It doesn't matter.

Interviewer: So their future...

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Is dark. Totally dark. It's dark for your house, my house, everyone's house. Dark.

Interviewer: So this is leading to nothing but widespread darkness.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Complete darkness. A world of darkness. It is our misfortune.

Interviewer: And now, Gurudev, we see students protesting and sitting in dharnas (sit-ins) in front of schools. It's on the news every day. Those who were failed are protesting.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Well, were they failed based on what they wrote in their answer sheets? If they were going to pass everyone, they should have passed every single person. Why this? If someone had actually written the exam and failed, that would be different. But that didn't happen.

Interviewer: So there might be another change in the marking system. The West Bengal Education Board is reconsidering it.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: They have to! They must. There are some good, highly educated people left who understand the education system. They know where the flaws are. But they can't speak up because of political pressure. They fear losing their jobs. If they say one word, their job is gone. So they know exactly where the mistakes were made, but they stay silent.

Interviewer: So friends, you heard about the dark world of education...

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Do you know what will happen? These very kids will turn into thieves and dacoits later. An idle brain... no studies, nothing... these are idle brains. Crime will increase. As time goes on, crime will rise. Children of decent families will turn to theft and snatching. What else will happen? You can't expect anything else.

Interviewer: So, you heard from Gurudev about this decline in education where results are given without merit, followed by protests. It's a dark world. We were already in an economic dark age...

Guru Shyama Khyapa: If there were studies, if there were jobs and sources of income, people would study. Why did our parents tell us to study? "Study, or you'll have nothing to eat. You won't get a job." Our parents hammered this into us constantly. "Study, or no one will give you a job." We heard this our whole lives. Today's parents don't say that. They don't feel the need. Some parents have money, so they don't care. The ones who suffer are the middle class and the lower-middle class. Where will they go?

Interviewer: And those who were middle class are sliding into the lower-middle class because of inflation. There is no financial progress.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: No development at all. None. What will we do in the coming days? Companies like Tata, who came here, have all left. And I'm telling you, in the near future, 40,000 to 50,000 people will be laid off in this sector. I'm giving it to you in writing.

Interviewer: Currently, Gurudev, BPCL (Bharat Petroleum) is rumored to be privatized, and LIC is becoming private. Whatever little is left under the government is being sold off. Now they are trying to bring Tata back.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Like I said—Tata left, and now they are begging them to come back. Why would they come back? They had come here spontaneously and had already built the factory. They were just waiting for production. From that stage, it came to this. It's just politics, politics, and more politics. It doesn't feel good to hear about these things anymore. It's all garbage. These politicians are feeding the public garbage from the bin, and people are eating it up. Politics has become a dustbin.

Interviewer: You used to say education and politics are two different things, and merging them has led to this decline for students. They have entered a dark world through these results. I don't know what the future holds.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: For you students, even if you pass like this now, you will face a real evaluation one day. Prepare for that so you can succeed then. Even if you "pass" here without an evaluation, you will have to face it eventually.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Do you know what our boys used to do? They would pick and choose specific questions and study only those. They would study the history of the Mughal Empire or whatever. But no one reads the whole book. It's just questions and answers now. Big publishers are putting out question-and-answer books. The whole textbook isn't being taught. If you don't read the whole book, what's the point? Can you learn history or geography by reading four questions? That's what education has become. "Read these few questions and you'll pass." But where are the people who actually read the whole book? They aren't there, and no one encourages it either. Read the whole book to get an idea—but they only read what's "necessary."

Interviewer: Now it's the era of one-word answers. People give exams for 80 marks with just one-word answers.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Well, fine. Society will suffer. The country will suffer. What else? These politicians will come and go. They are just grease and oil. They'll do their bit and leave. CPM finished their term and left, and these people are also nearing their end. Let's see what happens. We shouldn't even be discussing this, but since you asked, we did. I've become indifferent to it all. No sports, no education—everything is finished.

Interviewer: And by giving everything away for free, they've killed the habit of working hard. These marks without effort...

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Yes, people don't want this. No one wants to earn money without labor. But look at it—school teachers are getting paid while sitting at home. It's been a year and a half, and they are getting paid. There is no improvement in education. What else can I say?

Interviewer: Even the online classes aren't being taken seriously in this situation. Everyone has been given things for free.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: They'll take their cycles and wander around in the evenings. They'll fall in love and roam around. If they can't afford a bike, they have the cycle. They'll roam on cycles. That's the future. And they'll chat on their tabs. If there's money in the bank, there's no problem. Every afternoon they'll go to Esplanade, withdraw money, and have fun. That's what will happen. It's all "fine." It's "good."

Interviewer: Greetings, Gurudev.

Guru Shyama Khyapa: Greetings, son.

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