What is co-Education?

What do you mean by the term education?
The continued existence of society depends upon the transmission of culture to the young. It is essential that every new generation must be given training in the ways of the group so that the same tradition will continue. Every society has its own ways and means of fulfilling this need. Education has come to be one of the ways fulfilling this need.

The term 'education' is derived from the Latin work 'educare' which literally means to 'bring up' and is connected with the word 'educere' which means to "bring forth'. The idea of education is not merely to impart knowledge to the pupil in some subjects but to develop in him those habits and attitudes with which he may successfully 'face the future.

The Latin author Varro wrote —"The midwife brings forth, the nurse brings up, the tutor trains and the master teaches. "Plato was of the opinion that the end of education was to develop in the body and in the soul (of the pupil) all the beauty and all the perfection of which they are capable. It means, in short, a sound mind in sound body
Co-Education means the teaching of both boys and girls in the same school and under the same roof. It also means imparting the same education to both the sexes without any distinction. This system of education aims at bringing boys and girls together. It allows free mixing of sexes without any inhibition.

The great Greek philosopher, Plato had propagated the system of co-education in the ancient times. He believed that co-education will create a feeling of comradeship between boys and girls. Plato was a great supporter of the education of women. Therefore, he wanted them to be educated with men in the same institutions. He felt that if men and women are taught together, it will develop their personality to the maximum. They will not feel any shyness from each other. He advocated that it was the only method in which both could become useful members of the society.

Plato in reality was much influenced by the co-educational system of Sparta, a city of Greece. There the boys and girls were given both the academic and physical education together. The girls and boys studied and played together. They were both taught the art of fighting, horse riding, archery etc. Thus the women of Sparta were not in any inferior to men.

In ancient India also, there was no segregation between boys and girls in the Aryan society. In the modern times, co-educational system is prevalent in Europe and USA. In India also, now-a-days more and more co-educational schools and colleges are being established.

Furthermore, we do not always remain within the same role. We being as children, pass through adolescence into adulthood, marry, become parents, enter middle age, retire, grow old and finally die. With each role comes pattern of behavior that we must learn and thus through out our life, we are involved in the socialization process.

Secondly, education viewed as an agent of cultural transmission is also continuous. Culture is growing while there can be break in the continuity of culture. If at all there is a break, it only indicates the end of a particular human group. The cultural elements are passed on from generation act as the agents of cultural transmission. Education in its formal or informal pattern has been performing this role since time immemorial. Education can be looked upon as process from this point of view also.

Thirdly, education implies, as an attempt to acquire knowledge, is also continuous. Knowledge is like an ocean, boundless, limitless. No one has mastered it or exhausted it. No one can claim to do so. There is a limit to the human genius or the human grasp of the things. The moral man can hardy know anything and everything about nature, which is immoral.

The universe is a miraculous entity. The more one tries to know of it, the more it becomes mysterious. Not any the natural universe but also the social universe is complex. The human experiences limited to have a thorough knowledge of acquiring more and more knowledge about the universe with all its complexity. Education thus is a continuous endeavor, a process.