Having studied in a co-educational school and college for most of my student days, except for a brief period during my high school, it was quite interesting to see an article in the New York Times about single sex schools. There was a lot of debate, discussion and heartburn about this theme : is single sex school good or co-ed school better?

It reminded me about my own school days in Mysore, over four decades ago while studying at Christ the King Convent. Both boys and girls used to study there. Of course the golden rule of boys and girls not talking to one another was strictly followed. In fact if a boy spoke to another girl, he was considered effeminate and if a girl on her own spoke she was stamped a “tom boy.”

When I look back at those days, it is really interesting to see that it was always girls who got the first rank and not the boys. The study in New York Times points out that since boys get distracted by a lot of things and girls are more focused they always scored over boys.

However, when I went to high school I was in a single sex school and believe me, we never had to worry about such equations at all. The Sarada Vilas Boys High School was an institution where each teacher was a character who left his mark on us.

There were no “Men are from Mars and Women from Venus,” issues to worry about.

But years later, while doing my post graduation, it again came to haunt me when a girl scored over me to top the class. What was it that the girls had that boys didn’t, is something that baffles me even today.

Again, I have always wondered what would have happened if I had studied even high school in a co-ed school.
Would my life have been different? May be I could have ended up being a doctor, instead of stumbling my way through so many professions? Who knows? Anyway it is a different matter, that Christ the King Convent is no longer a co-ed school. May be even the nuns felt that it is better that the boys don’t feel inferior because they can never top the class!.