Taichung: 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 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.

According to Focus Taiwan, the school discussed the possibility of coed classes in 1994, 2004, and 2014, but no consensus was reached. Currently, only language, science, mathematics, and music classes are coed, while other classes remain gender-segregated, Ou noted. 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 stated.

Ou conveyed her personal belief that all students have inherently different learning and thinking styles and emphasized the importance of how teachers guide them. In 2023, the issue of coed classes was revisited for discussion at the school. After gathering opinions from teachers and staff through surveys and holding a series of meetings, it was concluded that the core issue was the disparity in the ratio of male to female admissions.

During discussions, concerns were raised about whether coed classes might increase the likelihood of students developing romantic relationships. Some argued that physical segregation does not prevent romantic liaisons and that students should learn how to interact with the opposite sex. After addressing these concerns, the school resolved that starting from the 2025-2026 academic year, there will be no gender ratio restrictions in admissions, and the class structure will be coed.

The predecessor of the high school was "Taichung Prefectural Taichung Second Middle School," founded in 1922 during the Japanese colonial period. It was renamed after merging with "Taichung Prefectural Taichung Second Girls' High School" in 1946 and ceased recruiting girls in July 1952. In 1982, the school introduced music experimental classes and resumed admitting female students, albeit within a gender-segregated class system.