Parents counselled to let their girls study after Ludhiana school becomes co-ed: Principal
Government Senior Secondary School, Division No. 3, which initially was dedicated to just girls, has now started enrolling boys as the school got the status of ‘School of Eminence’ last year.
Government Senior Secondary School, Division No. 3, which initially was dedicated to just girls, has now started enrolling boys as the school got the status of ‘School of Eminence’ last year.
Principal of the school, Ranjit Kaur said that the parents who did not want their daughters to study along with the boys, used to enrol them in this school but due to boys being admitted in classes 9 and 11 this year, parents started withdrawing their daughters’ names from the school initially and many of them had to be counselled.
“Parents complained about this change and were reluctant to send their daughters. A few of them have stopped sending their daughters, and a few, despite being unwilling to let their girls study along with boys, are letting them study here as there is no all-girls government school nearby. We have also counselled the parents, as for higher education, they would have to send their daughters to different institutions and when they get employed, they cannot always be surrounded by only girls. Initially, the majority of the parents were hesitant but with time, the situation is changing,” said Kaur.
SOE, Division No. III, also known as Islamia School, currently has 143 students from classes 9 to 12, of which 26 are boys, in non-medical, commerce and arts stream in class 11.
Girl students of class 11 also mentioned that it would still take some time for them to adjust to the change, but it would have been better if the school remained for girls only. “I have been in this school since class 11, and it was much more comfortable with only girls around. We are trying to adjust to this change but if this school was an all-girls school from the very beginning, then it should not have turned into co-ed as many of my friends’ parents have objected to this change,” said a girl student of SOE, Class 11.