Blue Hat

The proposal states, “All public and private institutions of higher education in the UAE will be co-educational to better reflect the reality of the workplace.”

The current situation in the educational system shows that some of the institutions do not allow male students to study with female students and still follows the segregation by gender policy.

 

White Hat

According to the Gulf News, mixed classes are becoming a growing trend in the UAE as single-gender institutions begin admitting small batches of students of the opposite gender, where some institutes started admitting members of the opposite sex such as Zayed University, the Higher Colleges of Technology and the United Arab Emirates University. (1) The article shows the viewpoints of both female and male attributes in various universities and colleges; the majority of students support the idea of co-education because it makes them more confident and relaxed when transitioning into the workplace. In addition, it gives them a competitive advantage where both genders put more effort into their projects in order to excel the other. Statistically speaking around 45% of female students encourage co-educational environment to gain the proper social and professional skills by the time they transition into the workplace, while up to 60% of male students encourage the idea of co-education for the same reasons, however, nearly most of parent doesn’t agree of the idea and prefer that their daughters study in a segregated environment. (3)

 

Red Hat

Feelings could differ based on the individual’s personality in this case, for example, if a female or male student to come from a conservative environment or have been studying from the start in a segregated environment this will cause them to feel shy in terms of talking to the opposite sex, hence finds troubles completing certain tasks, in addition, they could feel uncomfortable around the other party, and sometimes feel attracted to them, which could lead to distractions and feel pressured, thus affect their productivity. However, there is a positive side to it, feeling pressured could also produce more effective work to challenge the opposite sex or to impress one, yet again it depends on the personality. Some may feel happy and enthusiastic dealing with the opposite sex where they get the chance to see things from the other’s point of view and gain the proper communication skills within the process.

 

Yellow Hat

On the positive side, implementing this proposal would mean that students will fall into a competitive environment, which is beneficial because it will reflect the work place reality when dealing with the opposite sex, the policy will provide equality and give importance to both genders, where they have to use their fullest potential to excel the other, in addition, working in a diverse environment will help them learn new concepts and value the opposite sex, hence improve their communication skills in terms of talking and working with the other gender. (2)

 

Black Hat

This proposal does have a downside to it, a few problems could arise; as mentioned before some parents prefer that their daughters study in a segregated environment rather than a mixed one due to our traditions, cultures and comfort levels of the country's population, this could cause problems if the policy was to be mandatory, thus, parents wont allow their daughters to study, hence, unemployment rate could rise due to the lack of education degree, in addition, maybe the daughter wants to study in a mixed environment yet her parents appose her, this could cause family problems as well, where she got do the exact opposite of what they say and this goes against our culture and traditions. Another fault could fall into the system, where individuals are favored based on gender, for example, maybe a male student will be heard more than a female student, because they tend to be more muscular and because they are men, which is gender discrimination. Furthermore, unethical behavior could happen such as flirts, affairs, physical relationship and sexual harassment, which will definitely become a huge problem.

 

Green Hat

However, there are a number of alternatives to a co-education environment, the choice remain optional to those who prefer mixed classes, yet, to those who oppose may not need to physically attend classes, as an alternative online classes could be provided with the benefit of working with the opposite sex just not face-to-face, which we believe is easier to interact with someone behind the screen. As for the parents, it would be great to launch seminars in order to open their mind on the benefits of co-education keeping in mind that almost all work environments include diversity and the presence of both genders with different nationalities, seminars must show to parents why is it important to adapt new concepts that are aligned with today’s world especially now that the UAE is expanding its horizon on a global scale. This policy will build a sense of independency in each individual where they have to depend on their own intellectual and critical thinking towards creativity, in addition it will help them adapt to a whole new and different work environment, it will encourage them to strive for something outstanding and more challenging, basically, co-education will be the opportunity for all students to obtain skills that will definitely benefit them in their future career.

 

Blue Hat

Considering all factors, our recommendation is to accept the proposal with some changes.

Based on our experience, we found that nowadays almost every work environment you get to face or deal with the opposite sex, so it is a must to enhance each student’s communication skills to help him\her communicate better in terms of collaborating together. It is highly recommended to encourage co-educational environment amongst all levels of education to create a new concept that has a more competitive environment, where both genders will rise to the challenge to outshine the other, which will enhance the productive work and its creativity. However, some parents still prefer segregated environments for their daughters, where they relate such actions to our traditions, cultures and comfort levels of the country's population so it is a challenge to convince them, thereby, we recommend seminars for parents to educate them on the importance of co-education in this centaury. In conclusion, we recommend that a new education system should be build that is based on the centaury of today especially with the great progress of our country, new concepts are developing everyday, why not include education, however the choice remain optional, the implementation of the new policy of co-education should not be mandatory but optional. Nevertheless, the co-education policy will enable students the chance to practice with the opposite sex and gain the experience of working and dealing with the other gender, keeping in mind, nowadays all work places includes an environment of diversity with different nationalities.

 

References:

 

1. Naidoo, Amelia, and Rania Moussly. "Co-education vs Segregation." Co-education vs Segregation. 28 Feb. 2009. Web. 26 Feb. 2016. <http://gulfnews.com/culture/education/co-education-vs-segregation-1.53464>

2. Moussly, Rania. "Emiratis Opt for Co-ed Universities." Emiratis Opt for Co-ed Universities. 12 Sept. 2010. Web. 26 Feb. 2016. <http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/education/emiratis-opt-for-co-ed-universities-1.680594>.

3. Naidoo, Amelia, and Rania Moussly. "Mixed Reaction to Co-education." Mixed Reaction to Co-education. 28 Feb. 2009. Web. 27 Feb. 2016. http://gulfnews.com/news/uae/education/mixed-reaction-to-co-education-1.55433.