Coeducation, meaning boys and girls studying in the same school, is one of the many things that we happen to adopt from the west. While some schools remain segregated for their own good reasons, a growing number of them prefer the system of coeducation.
Coeducation does have its own advantages, but the disadvantages weigh no less. Coeducation is more economical as a funds required to construct a school, library, laboratories and what not, which is used by both genders while in the case of separate systems, to separate setups have to be provided for both the genders.
It is also seen that through interaction and class discussion, a better understanding of the other gender takes place and it also helps in increasing the confidence level of the girls and boys. And the healthy competition that emerges as a result of studying together is also helpful in making them prepared to face the practical world when they grow up.
Moving towards the factors that have led many people to conclude that segregated education is safer includes the fact that some girls and boys might hesitate participating in class discussions because they feel uncomfortable with the other gender around. Hence, coeducation doesn't necessarily always instil the feeling of confidence, in fact it can become a hindrance as well. On the contrary, many people believe that coeducation removes even the necessary distance between the two genders, which can prove to be detrimental.
Schools that have implemented a segregated form of education, consists of students, especially girls, who participate in sports and class activities more freely. According to a research conducted in Britain, separate education helps students perform better, regardless of their ability or socioeconomic status. Though the girls performed better than the boys, the improvement was noticeable in the performance of both the genders.
During another experiment conducted in Virginia, girls were separated for special mathematics and science courses and achieved a lot better than before, thus proving that separate education is more beneficial to girls than to boys.
Keeping in mind the aforementioned points, I believe that it all depends on the student, how he manages to prioritise his studies and remain focussed. Distractions are to be found everywhere, but the choice remains in our hands, whether we drift away with the distractions or pushes them out of our mind and concentrate on the reason he is being sent to a school. A child can excel amidst all the distractions in a coeducation school, while a child who is just not interested in studying can remain distracted even in a segregated school.
Thus, to conclude, let's say that “There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so,” as the famous quotation goes!
