Education is the epicenter of life. It can transform an ordinary human being into an adept and wise person. It can make the living on Earth more organized and tenuous.
The significance of education is also evident from the fact that “Iqra” was the first ever word to be revealed on Holy Prophet Muhammad PBUH. There are three supplications for imparting education; a pen, a paper, and ink.
There are two types of institutions based on gendered classification; single gender education and coeducation. Single gender education is when education is imparted to separate genders. Male and female students study in separate classrooms.
Whereas coeducation is when students of opposite gender attend the class sitting side by side. There are so many benefits as well as implications of coeducation. On one hand, coeducation makes students more confident, promotes a healthy competition among the students, and it is cost-effective too.
While on the other hand, coeducation does have some drawbacks as well. It can diverge the attention of students from studies and students are more vulnerable to fell in unethical activities in coeducation set-up.
However, the positive aspects of coeducation by all means exceeds over it’s deficienes thereby making coeducation system is more obvious and convenient.
To begin with, coeducation boasts the confidence of students. Students of different genders learns in coeducation how to coordinate and perform team work. It increases the awareness among the students about the problems of opposite gender so make them more understanding and cooperative not only in educational activities but in practical and professional fields as well.
Moreover, coeducation is cost-effective and more economic. In coeducation one doesn’t need to hire a separate school staff as well as support staff for male and female students separately.
Instead, one can kill two birds with one stone and can manage things within the reasonable prices in comparison to what is required for students to get educated in gender specific schools.
Moreover, the building cost also get reduced because the management doesn’t need to arrange for a separate building for girls’ education.
Above all, coeducation provides a sense of uniformity and equality among the students. Its a kind of realization of the fact that everyone is equal in society and deserves equal rights to education beyond the classification of gender and race.
When students of opposite gender study side by side and avail similar opportunities of education within the educational institutions, it makes them more sensible and more responsible as a citizen.
Also, right to equality is entailed in international humanitarian law which says that all people have the right to be treated equally beyond discrimination.
So far the shortcomings of coeducation are concerned, they exist because coeducation does not fit well across the regions and countries with orthodox beliefs and practices.
For instance, in third world countries the fighter groups enjoy safe hideouts and challenge the governments’ authority. In order to influence their viewpoint they antagonize with girls right to education. For instance, a girls school has been set on fire in Darel area of Gilgit Baltistan of Pakistan days ago.
Earlier in 2018, some 12 schools of girls were set on fire by miscreants. Things like that make coeducation a far cry because such incidents depeive students from their right to education altogether. Let alone the case for coeducation.
Afghanistan presents another such case in which the country has to do with coeducation altogether. After takeover by Taliban last year the students of opposite gender study by partition within the classrooms or study in separate classrooms.
This creates burden on school authorities because female students enrolled within schools are already least in number in comparison to their male counterparts. This is how military takes over the students’ right to education.
Furthermore, there are also reports of many untoward and unethical activities in coeducation system. Flirts, love affairs and outlawed physical relationships to name a few. Also, girls suffer gender based harassment in institutions of coeducation quite often that makes them and their parents uncomfortable with coeducation.
To cut it short, if issues of gendered discrimination and harassment are tackled wilfully by implementing robust policies within educational institutions and by adopting certain dress code for students then coeducation has least to harm the students.
It is by far the most wonderful and auspicious thing for students as well as administration to educate the nation and prepare students and to transform the world into a better place to live. After all, it is education that breeds confidence, hope and peace.
