Important Essay: Co-Education

Co-Education
1.    Meaning and evolution of this system
2.    Arguments in favor of co-education
3.    Arguments against co-education
4.    Conclusion.

Co-education means the education of boys and girls in the same schools, colleges or universities. This is a modern concept and it has made a remarkable rapid progress. It was first introduced in Switzerland, but now it has become popular almost in all Europe and America. The Eastern countries are also adopting this system gradually. In our country opinions sharply differ on the issue of co-education in colleges.
The supporters of co-education favorite mainly on two grounds: One say that co-education is an economical measure in a poor country like Our country. It is not possible to maintain separate colleges for boys and girls. Especially in vocational colleges a lot of money is required to equip the libraries, laboratories and workshops. In the second place, the social contacts between the members of the two sexes ate useful in many respects. The supporters of co-education say that if boys and girls ate educated together, they will develop in them a sort of mutual understanding. This believes that co-education makes boys less coarse and girls less morbid. The boys become civilized and polite and the girls get rid of their shyness. Moreover, it creates a spirit of competition in studies. Both try their hard to out-do the others.
The arguments of the supporters of co-education are weighty, but those against are more weighty. Demerits of this system make its success in this country doubtful. The opponents of co-education argue that in a hot country like Our country this system is impracticable. Here boys and girls become young at an early age. Youth is blind and there is every possibility that they may fall a victim to their emotions. Then every one of us knows that ends and aims of education for the two sexes are quite different, their demands in education are different from each other and, therefore, it is false economy to teach them in the same institution. Again, in Our country, colleges are very few and they are over-crowded. Co-education can prove economical only in such saxes when the number of the students in colleges is very small. And moreover we must remember that Islam disallows free mixing of boys and girls. It is for these reasons, the opponents of co-education thinks that the system is not fit for our country. To conclude, we may say that co-education is above objection in the professional colleges where the ultimate goal of all the students is the same, but in arts and science colleges where the two sexes are prepared for the normal routine of life, co-education is unnecessary.