Co-education – Yes or No?

In spite of sound financial conditions and the required marks, Tanya Agarwal could not make it into the school of her choice. The reason: it was a co-educational school and thus her parents considered it a better idea not to get her admitted there. Was the reason enough to take decision? For them, yes.

There are many parents who want to send their children to single sex schools in order to minimize their contact with the opposite sex. However they should try to understand that by sending one’s child to an all-boy or an all-girls school, one might minimize the child’s interaction with the other sex when in school, but what about the tuitions, fests, extra classes and neighbourhood?

In fact, sending one’s child to a co-educational school helps him to be more comfortable with both girls and boys and thus the child will be able to handle advances better.

For example, a girl studying in a co-educational school will be having many friends who are boys. Thus, she interacts with them, understands them. However, when a boy approaches a girl from an all-girls school, the girl might get carried away and accept a person even if he is not the right kind of person.

The point here is that merely sending a child to a unisex school does not make him very safe or secure. He can always indulge in hanky-panky if he desires to do so after school. What is required is that the child be made to understand the difference between the right and the wrong, which requires open discussions with parents. It is often the curiosity among children which lands them in trouble. Therefore what is required is a change in the mindset of conservative parents.

The decision by Maharashtra Cosmopolitan Education Society ( MCES) to introduce a co-educational wing in its all-girls Abeda Inamdar Senior College invited wrath among some conservative Muslims who felt that the concept of boys and girls studying together did not suit Islamic culture, and would act as a deterrent for parents reluctant to send their daughters for higher education….but….how can religion act as a deterrent to a child’s development? One has to change with the changing times. Gone are the purdah days when interaction between men and women was negligible. Today, in every field one has to interact with the other sex, then why not at school level, which shall help the child deal with situations better

There are pros and cons to everything, and yes, co- education too has it. But the cons can be overcome by guiding the child in the right direction, keeping a tab on him and by helping him recognize his limitations.

Today the number of co-educational institutions is increasing day by day. And it is hoped that with the changing times, parents will start evaluating schools by what they offer and not by whether they are co- educational or not, and also that children will also understand what is right and what is wrong and not go astray.

 Written By: Neha Baid, JD Birla College, Kolkata