Education | Schools that leave out the boys

They do not share a classroom, nor do they play together in the school’s corridors. They don’t even look at each other during school breaks. In Macau, there are schools where boys are not allowed.
Mandy, Daisy and Sally share more than the uniform at Lady Fatima’s School. For most of their lives, they have attended a girls’ school. They don’t have a lot of male friends. They feel more comfortable and more relaxed in the school environment without the presence of boys.
Now aged 18 and about to begin university, they will take up a new challenge, which will inevitably result in their interaction with male students.
Having studied at an all-girls’ school “is not a big issue” for any of them. They even describe a few advantages: “We did not have to worry about the way they look at us. We could say whatever we want, speak loud or even sing during our school break,” Daisy said.
Sally speaks of a sense of freedom, namely during sports classes. “We needed to carry heavy bags ourselves,” she recalled. Mandy added that they felt less pressure in an all-girls’ school compared to other girls who study alongside boys, particularly in subjects related to science.
Lady Fatima’s School, located in one of Macau’s most densely populated areas, the Toi San neighborhood, has 1,700 students in 54 different classrooms.
“We strive to improve the position of women in Macau society. That’s been one of our focuses over the past 60 years,” said the school’s principal Cecilia Lao, acknowledging that communication problems between girls and boys might arise.  The school has therefore responded to this by providing its students with exchange  opportunities, where they can socialize with boys.  This has helped developed their trust.
The English section of Santa Rosa de Lima College is also dedicated to girls. Venus, aged 17, has attended the school since she was a child and her sister has followed in her footsteps.
As president of the student union, Venus has more contact with male students from other schools. She sees it as a natural process but acknowledges that some of her colleagues “are a bit nervous” whenever they have to deal with boys. Nevertheless, she recognizes there are clear differences between her and colleagues from regular schools. “In my phone, I only have telephone contacts of other girls, whereas for colleagues of other schools [their contact list] is more balanced,” she explained.
Shelley Grace Calangi, a teacher at Santa Rosa de Lima, acknowledged that teaching at a girls’ school “is a great challenge.” “We need to adapt our teaching methods to [our students’] different needs and their abilities,” she said.
On one hand, teaching at a girls’ school allows students to explore various issues in a more in-depth manner, particularly when it comes to sexual education; on the other, having different perspectives “is also healthy and beneficial,” and “can encourage students to continue developing an interest in the opinions of others”
The teacher added that being at a girls’ school encourages students to view the world from a female perspective. At the same time it is challenging because it only brings with it a certain amount of experience. Ms Calangi also said that it can prompt “identity issues.”
“They don’t meet boys very often so when that happens they seem a little bit immature. As they do not meet them often, they do not always know what to say, how to act or what is right or wrong,” she concluded. Macau has eighty-seven schools, eight of which provide single-sex education.  MDT/Lusa