*CO EDUCATION IN COLLEGES*

By SHAHID MAJEED MIR

Education system plays a very important role in making the world better place to live in a most civilized way. A country is said to be developed only if it has a very good education system. A good education system works towards creating gender equality in all the fields that also comes with respect. Even though gender equality is been respected and nurtured in all parts of the world Co-education is a system where both the genders (male and female) participate in a same learning centre or an educational institution. In this process, both the genders would benefit equally in learning or attaining knowledge from the institution and each other. This method of education even though is becoming common all over the world, there are still few parts of the country who feel sometimes segregation is for the betterment of the learning process . However, there are same amount of group who feels, segregation of the genders causes trouble to the learning process and makes it more complicated.
Crimes have become common when both the genders are put up in the same education environment. There might be lot 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. 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 co-education system to ensure that their kids are in a safe environment and this is especially for the girls. Teenage is a very dangerous phase in anybody’s life. It is very common among the teens to undergo psychological changes when they are in company of the other gender and feel attracted towards them. And especially at crucial stage where they are in a process of defining their career path, it could cause lot of distractions and might disturb their knowledge gain period. Hence, parents often wonder if co-education institutions would be right choice for your kin to learn and whether they should avoid co-education system.

A boy and girl are passing a note back and forth to one another. Researchers from around the world have not yet reached a consensus on which is better  co education  or single-gender education. This is due in part to the many different sociocultural characteristics influencing individual schools. Every child, family and school is different. Still, some research-based statements can be made about how co-ed education affects students in the classroom — and while many factors are positive, a few are negative..

Female students are at a disadvantage in certain areas in co education  classrooms especically, when it comes to commenting in the classroom. Teachers tend to interact with boys more, according to the National Education Association (NEA): They give lengthy, verbal responses to boys’ questions and comments. On the other hand, teachers generally respond to girls’ comments by nodding or with a short “OK.” In a co-ed classroom, some girls may not be able to get a word in edgewise. In addition, girls are reprimanded more frequently than boys are for calling out without raising their hands.

The stereotype of male independence comes with a price: Girls tend to get more help in the classroom from teacher than boys, according to the NEA. In a co-ed classroom, it’s the girls who will be helped more when they struggle, whereas boys are likely to be told to work it out on their own..

Many scholars reviewed several studies on same-sex education and came to the conclusion that one benefit of all-girls’ schools is that girls tend to be more confident in the classroom when their male counterparts aren’t present. This means one disadvantage of co-ed education might be that girls are less confident around the boys in the classroom — more hesitant to try new things, take the lead or show off their math, science and technology skills fields traditionally dominated by males.

Multiple studies found that boys also benefit from same-sex classrooms: They tend to be less competitive and feel less peer pressure, especially in the area of physical development. In a co-ed classroom, boys are more reluctant to engage in cooperative learning due to their tendency to be more competitive with each other around their female classmates As the saying goes, opposite things attract each other, it applies to the humanly world also. Attractions among the opposite genders are the most commonly used excuse to avoid 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 an easy access to distractions within the institutions. An emotional involvement at an early stage can come with lot baggage that can force a child to deviate from their goals.
In conclusion having said that I would make an important point here that the government of jammu and kashmir should take an important step for separating the college students boys and girls. As we know hardly a spends when Radio ,television and Newspapers does not show the sexual harresament incident,  if not now then when our government will take this precious step. Because it will save our environment,  humanity…….

SHAHID MAJEED MIR
TANGCHECK LOLAB
CIVIL SERVICE ASPIRANT
email mirshahid363@gmail.com