Co-Education in Mauritius: A Blessing in Disguise?

College students in Mauritius belong to the age group 13 – 20. This is a crucial phase for the adolescents where they undergo not only physical but also emotional and psychological changes. It is a time of discovery for them but could also be one of disorientation if they are not surrounded by the right people. Co-education is important during adolescence as it helps the girls and boys to understand one another better. It enables them to shed their inhibitions and interact with greater ease. This in turn will lead to healthy relationships between both genders in and outside the college premises. Single-sex colleges cannot claim to prepare the students for life because they do not train the students to take their place naturally in a community comprising of both men and women.

The role of colleges is not only limited to equipping students with the necessary skills and knowledge that will enable them to get a job or pursue a degree later on. They are supposed to reflect the same patterns of interaction seen in the larger society. Today, in every field one has to interact with the other sex. Then, why make segregation at college level?

Mixed colleges are widespread in countries like UK, USA and over the years have become prevalent in more conservative countries like India as well. However, in Mauritius, things have not changed on this front.  Almost all the colleges across the island are still single-gender ones. Why has co-education at college level not been enforced by the government?

MGI is a mixed college and so far there have been no issues. Mixed colleges cannot therefore be blindly tagged as being responsible for adolescents going astray. If parental and teachers’ guidance are not there, be it a mixed or single-sex college, mishaps are likely to happen. There need to be a change in the mindset of conservative parents. They should be able to talk openly with their children so that the latter can differentiate between right and wrong. Often, it is the curiosity of adolescents which land them in trouble.

Mauritian colleges need to stop being “ivory towers” that stand in contrast to the larger society. Boys and girls should be given the chance to be normal in their relationship during adolescence and not kept apart. What they will learn from and about each other during that period will prove to be a brilliant foundation for their relationships later on in life since their approach would be more realistic as they will not be having any misconceptions about the other sex.

And the inadvertently controversial debate goes on...

--K.Singh and A.Heerah