Merits and Demerits of Coeducation

(hamza safdar, haripur)

Coeducation is to educate both boys and girls together.in the modern world of today,coeducation is the new order of the day.most of the countries in the world have adopted this form of education. in Pakistan too, there are some schools where there is coeducation whereas, in many institutes there is sex-segregation.

Coeducation finds its origin in Sparta,Greece.at that time,there was no distinction between boys and girls.they studied and played together.they were given academic education along with physical training.Plato,the great philosopher theorized that coeducation was essential for the development of personality.he believed that coeducation was the only way to make boys and girls beneficial to the society

Coeducation, in Pakistan has always remained a controversial issue.some people want this system to be adopted in all the institutions on the other hand, there is a sizeable portion of population that is opposed to it.

Coeducation has the ability to cope with the problems of developing countries.for instance,Pakistan is a developing country.it will be difficult for a developing economy to maintain separate instituitions for both sexes. if coeducation system is introduced in all the schools and colleges of the state, then the cost of separate infrastructure, stationary and recruitment personnel can be saved.

A country can develop only by increasing the rate of literacy. unfortunately, for developing countries, there is a dearth of well trained teachers.if both girls and boys are taught together in the same class, at the same time then this issue can also be resolved.

In coeducation, boys and girls get the opportunity to intermingle and to understand each other.

In a coeducational instite, boys and girls interact with each other freely.they become broadminded and overcome their shyness.

Coeducation will provide both sexes an opportunity to learn to cooperate with each other.they will be working together in assignments and projects which will help them to understand the way opposite sex works.

In addition, coeducation will allow both the sexes to treat each other on equal terms. girls will become more confident and responsive and the boys will develop more tolerance.the relationship between them will be based on equality,respect and humanity.this will help them to overcome the centuries old system of male dominance.
Researchers argue that coeducation has proved to be a better educational system as in such colleges,the results of exams are far better than in sex segregated schools.in coeducation, boys and girls compete with each other and try to remain ahead of the other one.this results in better academic results.

Every coin has two sides. An impartial eye should focus on both the silvery sides rather than adopting a biased attitude. The opponents of coeducation believe that in coeducation, boys and girls are exposed to each other. the temptation of flirting appears more attractive than the urge to open books.

Further, it is believed that coeducation is a western concept.many people want to adopt coeducation because it is prevalent in west.they think that if west has it then they must have it too.they want to be more western than the west.but,they should bear it in mind that a system should be adopted only if it goes along with cultural,social and religious values of a society. Certainly,our society does not accepts the present coeducational system.

The only solution that springs to mind in view of Islamic injunctions and logic of common sense is that there should be sex segregated institutions. however, if a developing country like Pakistan is not able to do so in current situation then it is the responsibility of government to take measures to ensure that coeducation does not attacks the moral values preached by islam. firstly, the curricula chosen should be such that does not risks morality. secondly,government should be careful in choosing faculty. the teachers recruited should be an embodiment of decency and morality.

hamza safdar
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