Do We Need Girls-Only Educational Institutions?

In history, girls-only schools were made to ensure the education of females. In the old times, the parents were reluctant to send their girls to mixed schools and opted for girls-only schools and colleges. And thanks to these many women have got the education that otherwise would have been impossible for them. However, do we still need these girls-only schools and colleges even in 2022?

Now, girls-only institutions have their own perks and demerits. We have to mention the freedom and security that girls feel inside these institutions. There will be thriving female friendships and laughter and games. But this will be present only if the management of the institution does not implement a prison-like strict environment. But this is the reality of many girls’ schools and colleges owned by private institutions. The excuse is to ensure the safety of the girls. We are not sure what safety do the girls in girls-only institutions need that is not needed for the girls in mixed institutions.

However, girls-only institutions do offer more opportunities for girls and act as a reservation system to female education. Here girls get to organize events and plan activities exclusively. Though that is not always the case, in mixed colleges more than half of the leadership work would be done by male students. In this manner, girls-only institutions encourage girls to be more proactive and take on leadership roles.

But still, the segregation of girls-only, or boys-only schools and colleges is not good for society on a larger scale. Girls and boys would be alienated from each other. We need boys and girls to learn to interact with each other as equals and as friends. Then only when they step into society they would learn to function properly as human beings.

Society is non-gender-segregated. At the workplace, you don’t have girls-only or boys-only offices. There if you do not have any experience in interacting with the opposite sex, you will find yourself struggling to adjust to this new world where the opposite sex may be your colleague, your boss, or your client.

This becomes even more complex when they have to find life partners. Of course, there is no issue if you have always had relationships. But if not that case, suddenly encountering the opposite sex without ever being friends with them would generate a lot of confusion. If the only reference they have about the opposite sex is through the movies and from a long distance, the opposite sex becomes an enigmatic creature for them, with no basis on reality. And this can result in underconfidence when it comes to any future personal or professional relationship they need to make with the opposite sex.

Although this can be the case for many mixed institutions and societies also where male students and female students are purposefully segregated and not allowed to talk with each other. This situation can even result in many dangerous situations later in life.

We still need many facilities to ensure the education of women. We can try to eliminate gender-segregated educational institutions, at least in the urban areas where the education of girls is in a better condition. Even when this one step is not enough in building a better generation of youngsters, it is at least a beginning.

-Poorna Krishnan