Advantages and Disadvantages of Co-Education

The education system plays a very important role in making the world a better place to live in the most civilized way. In this education system, Co-education system also know as “mixed sex education” has its own advantages and disadvantages.

A country says to develop only if it has a very good education system. It works towards creating gender equality in all the fields that also come with respect.

Even though gender equality respected and nurtured in all parts of the world, there still thousands of doubts raised about having co-education in schools, colleges, etc.

For all those people who wonder whether coeducation is good or bad here you will find all the information about what means by coeducation, the importance of the co-education system, the advantages, and disadvantages of co-education.

What is Co-Education?

In this process, both the genders would benefit equally in learning or attaining knowledge from the institution. This method of education even though is becoming common all over the world, as there are still few parts of the country who sometimes feel, segregation is for the betterment of the learning process.

However, few feel, segregation of the genders causes trouble in the learning process and makes it more complicated.

Importance of Co-education:

Co-education refers to providing education to both girls and boys together, without any discrimination( specifically gender discrimination). This is the actual meaning of coeducation explained in simple terms.

Gender discrimination is an outrageous atrocity that was and is still prevalent in a few countries. Though this is a common debatable topic, its time we need to change our opinions on such factors. Other few factors help us get rid of these outdated thinking.

In ancient times, Greece was the only country that allowed coeducation. But as time passed by, most of the countries in the world have adopted coeducation into their systems.

The reason why coeducation is important is that it awakens the spirit of equality and comradeship among all students without any discrimination.

For some information on Coeducation in Islam, you can refer to this article (pdf file): academia

Co-education in India:

In the term co-education, the prefix co means together, the meaning of coeducation is nothing but educating or teaching both girls and boys together i.e, it can be in schools, colleges or universities.

Adding coeducation into the educational system widely seen in the west. It then began to spread and now most of the countries in the world have accepted it.

Well, fortunately, India is no backward in this case and you can see coeducation being part of the educational system widely in India.

As per mythology, during the Vedic age, women were treated highly and also given a high status in society. During that time coeducation was practiced in ancient India.

But slowly coeducation was not encouraged much in India and it turns out to be a debatable matter.

At the time of British rule, though coeducation had got a boost, only a negligible percentage of girls got the privilege of studying in co-education institutions.

But with time passing by, now education given higher importance not only for boys but for girls too. Also, people have understood the reasons why co-ed schools are better. As a result, we can see the number of co-ed institutions increasing all over India.

In this modern era, the co-education can be listed at various levels, they are

• Primary school
• High school
• College / University

Types of Co-education:

At home:

Parents can teach their sons and daughters together to read, write and other things.

Nursery school:

Students both play and learn together.

Primary school:

Boys and girls take classes in the same environment.

College /University:

University students discuss and learn together.

Training or practical courses:

Preferences not provided to any gender.

Let us now look at some of the co-education advantages and disadvantages.

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Advantages of Co-Education System:

A good education system is said to be progressive only if it respects both the genders and giving the same education under a single roof.

Co-education institutions help in laying the foundation for both the genders to learn how to co-exist with respect and dignity. Here are a few points that explain the advantages of the co-education system.

1. Develops mutual respect:

Co-education allows both the genders to mingle with each other and to know how to co-exist with respect.

By this process of getting mingle under one learning institution, they develop a mutual understanding. And there is no place of hesitation or partiality among the genders when it comes to performing activities like cultural, academics or sports.

People get to know how to respect each other and their emotional level. You get to know each other’s strengths and weaknesses and develop the ability to accept them as they are.

2. Helps to overcome the fear of the opposite gender:

In general, there are a lot of differences in the behavior of both the genders which brings in fear and hesitance in striking a conversation, this fear can be for a boy or a girl.

This kind of shyness, hesitation or fear can overcome when they put up in a co-education system where they will compel to talk and create a friendly environment without any fear.

It is a very natural phenomenon where both the genders have to be together to face the world, your senior could be a male or a female and you would have to create a friendly environment and must be at ease with the opposite sex.

Hence, co-education would help them to know the opposite sex better, creating a comfort zone where communication is easier.

3. Healthy competition:

Competition is always an essential part of any kind of challenge in life be it personal or professional. And especially in education, it is good to have healthy competition among peers which lets you learn how to cope with your failures early in life no matter who the winner is.

When it comes to opposite genders it would be more competitive because of your ego, and this is one good way to improve the personal standards so that you don’t get personal on every failure.

So, co-education systems nurture challenges among the opposite genders in a healthy way, that helps you to maintain your dignity. It also educates you to face your failures and learn from them rather than turn them into the revengeful act.

4. Develops self-esteem among the genders:

Self-esteem is very essential and has to be built in a good way and the best place to start with it is the learning institutions where you can face all types of personality early in your life.

Co-education learning centers help to lay the early foundation for maintaining dignity and self-esteem.

Many institutions give extra attention to students who feel that they are less worthy than others and offer counseling sessions that help in building up their personality and making them stronger to face the world.

Co-education helps both the genders to respect each other’s self-esteem and build confidence about themselves, helping them to step out in the open without feeling intimidated.

5. Encourages the survival in the future:

Survival in the future for any of the gender in today’s world can happen only when we learn to co-exist.

Working together to making a marriage successful is all about teamwork and the effort given by both males and females. Team building activities in early stages help both the genders to learn how to co-exist and this can only be provided in the co-educational system.

In this way, co-education is an essential part of the education system which pushes the genders to work together and blend to survive in this brutal world.

6. Character enhancement:

A recent study reveals that children tend to behave very decently in a civilized manner in the presence of other gender provided they have been in this scenario for long.

This is very essential in an institution set up as well as it will have a huge impact on their front for the people of the opposite sex to behave well with each other.

Hence, co-education plays an important role in character building. They emphasize the fact that they have to respect and listen to the opposite sex as they listen and respect one from their own.

7. No space for discrimination:

Quarrel among peers is very common to be it at home, workplace or educational institutions. This may happen due to no proper understanding, misconceptions, miss-communications, uncomfortable, no respect for other sex and ignorance.

All this can only be improved when there is a good understanding between the two. This is very much reduced in a co-education system as they understand better each other and hence, reducing the bad behavior and harsh reactions from each other.

So, the co-education system reduces any kind of discrimination and increases respect towards the opposite sex.

8. Resource handling:

Be it any country there will be a shortage of lecturers if there are separate institutions or centers for genders right from school to college. It might be very difficult to fill in, even if there would be a huge demand for teachers.

It also breeds monetary loss to the government or a private institution when they invest a huge amount for separate lecturers teaching the same thing to students across institutions. Hence, the co-education system has the advantage of proper resource handling.

9. Promotes a controlled environment:

When both genders are put up in the same environment, there are more possibilities of following good ethics, disciplined use of language, and proper dressing, etc.

You would know what the needs are of the opposite sex and how they behave helping you to avoid unfavorable situations.

Co-education supports a good decent environment with more value-based education emphasizing respect and love for each other.

Let us now look at some coeducation disadvantages.

Disadvantages of Co-Education system:

Every establishment has pros as well as cons and hence we need to look at every angle before we decide in which direction we have to go.

Though there are many advantages of having a co-education system, our society still puts forward a few inhibitions which do not accept the concept. Mentioned here are few disadvantages or bad effects of co-education. They are,

1. Chances of distractions could be more:

Teenage is a very dangerous phase in anybody’s life. It is very common among teens to undergo psychological changes when they are in the company of the other gender and feel attracted to them.

And especially, where they are in a process of defining their career path, it could cause a lot of distractions and might disturb their knowledge gain period.

Hence, parents often wonder if co-education institutions would be the right choice for their kin to learn or whether they should avoid the co-education system.

2. Unethical activities:

Crimes have become common when both genders are put up in the same educational environment.

There might be a lot of characteristic changes among boys and girls. When they mismatch, some ferocious kids tend to commit various harassments, physical toughness, and emotional stress to people around them.

The weaker lot can suffer at the hands of the opposite sex pushing them into depression and other psychological problems. Hence, people hesitate to support the co-education system to ensure that their kids are in a safe environment and this is especially for the girls.

3. More involvement in personal feelings:

As the saying goes, the opposite things attract each other, it applies to the human world also. Attractions among the opposite genders are the most commonly used excuse to avoid the co-education system.

It is natural to get physically attracted to the other gender at a crucial age of life where curiosity takes over your heart. So, parents feel co-education is a risky task to take forward as they can have easy access to distractions within the institutions.

An emotional involvement at an early stage can come with a lot of baggage that can force a child to deviate from their goals.

4. Unwanted arguments and issues can create an unhealthy environment:

Both genders come from different schools of thought and hence contradiction of thoughts is common among boys and girls. If the arguments are not handled in a proper behavior then it can sometimes lead to unwanted arguments and might divert from their studies.

It can lead to a lot of complaints and parents making the rounds at the school for improper behavior from their kin. This will also make the teachers get troubled a lot because of their behavior and an irritated teacher can never give their 100% towards teaching.

This is what worries any parent when they come to know that the issues in the school are costing his or her kin’s studies and hence pushing them to select a convent rather than co-educational institutions.

5. Reduces the options for schools or colleges for the genders:

With schools and colleges dedicated towards a single-gender, creates a lot of shortage for the opposite genders to apply.

If the demand for teachers increases, then the demand for institutions based on gender also increases.

Establishing an institution is an expensive affair which may not be a feasible option to implement all over the world. There can be a scenario where you have more supply of students but less number of institutions to work with it.

Dedicated institutions can also lead to a lot of discomfort in handling the other gender when it comes to working in a professional world creating issues in your career path and growth.

Conclusion of Co-Education System:

There are both advantages as well as disadvantages for any kind of education system including the co-education system. Good social environment will nurture the positives of society and help in dealing with the negatives in a dignified manner.

There is no educational system in the world that has eradicated the negatives of the society but a co-educational system can work towards mending the gap between the genders and building a bridge of friendship.

In this promising era of empowerment, though the debate on coeducation is going on, it is very essential to have a co-education system to fit the survival of an environment where both the genders have their place.

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