Taichung Second Senior High School to adopt full coed classes

Taipei, May 8 (CNA) Taichung Second Senior High School will no longer enforce a gender ratio in student enrollment (currently 65 percent male, 35 percent female) and plans to fully adopt coed classes starting in the 2025-2026 academic year, the school's principal Ou Jing-yu (歐靜瑜) told CNA in a recent interview.

The decision was made after three unsuccessful attempts at implementing coed classes over the past three decades, Ou said.

The school discussed the possibility of coed classes in 1994, 2004, and 2014, but no consensus was reached, she added.

Currently, only language, science, mathematics and music classes are coed. Other classes are still gender-segregated, Ou said.

Some teachers believe there are differences in discipline, tidiness, and academic performance between male and female students, while others think coed classes promote better learning, the principal noted.

Saying that she herself believes all students have inherently different learning and thinking styles, Ou indicated that the most important thing is how teachers guide them.

In 2023, the issue of coed classes was raised again for discussion at the school. After collecting opinions from teachers and staff via surveys and holding a series of meetings, a consensus was reached that the core problem lies in the difference in the ratio of male to female admissions.

During the discussions, it was asked whether coed classes would increase the likelihood of students developing romantic relationships. Some expressed the opinion that physical segregation does not prevent students from developing romantic liaisons and students should have the opportunity to learn how to interact with the opposite sex.

After addressing the concerns raised about coed classes, the school passed a resolution that starting from the 2025-2026 academic year there will be no gender ratio restrictions in admissions, and the class structure will be changed to coed.

The predecessor of the high school was "Taichung Prefectural Taichung Second Middle School" founded in 1922 during the Japanese colonial period. It was changed to the current name after merging with "Taichung Prefectural Taichung Second Girls' High School" in 1946. It stopped recruiting girls in July 1952.

In 1982, the school set up music experimental classes and resumed admitting female students, but with a gender-segregated class system.