That’s a very good question I've been asking since he got scared of learning, and I suspect since the beginning of the comic, the transparency as well as the corruption of it when that red head broke her tablet and then said those creepy things with that smile.

I suspect there has to be foul play here.

Them being paired as a co-ed pair, and this specific location being chosen as their first assignment. There is definitely something off with this setup.

Do not attribute to malice that which can be adequately explained by stupidity. It could simply be a case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. If this planet was never taken off the list of potential assignments (possibly due to classic bureaucratic incompetence), and whoever was assigning them didn't look too closely (because why would they when they could simply trust The System), all they would need is to notice that this guy has experience with this planet so surely he must be the most qualified!

As for the co-ed thing, I suspect that the assignment criteria is less about matching genders, and more about assigning pairs with incompatible sexual orientations to minimize the risks of Incidents during long, unsupervised assignments.

On the first part of your comment we shall see.

On the second part, yes the main reason you would go with same sex teams is to lower the possibility of fraternization leading to accidents. But this pairing being not only co-ed, but around the same age group too?

Age doesn't really matter if there is no attraction, and Tilven seemed suspiciously disappointed to find herself partnered with a guy. A guy who has also shown no interest in her, might I add.

Tilven was disappointed to find herself partnered with a guy because it's against regulations. She was expecting a female mentor. This regulation is likely in place because the power imbalance of a female cadet having a male mentor with no oversight alone on an unfamiliar planet where she has to rely on him isn't a good look. (Because it could lead to harassment or forced situations I'll say it like that.) This particular case is worse because he's around her age. But putting that aside whoever chose for them to be paired up wouldn't have known how they would react to each other or whether there would be attraction or not. Whether or not they're attracted to each other now shouldn't be factored into the conversation.

The point is the fact that they are paired up is odd because it's also against the rules. Something that was pointed out when it was revealed, but shrugged off and allowed to go forth.