The Ghanaian Minaret

Kumasi: Dr. Adam Umar Yebila, an Arabic language expert, has called on stakeholders to review the processes and procedures for teaching and learning the Arabic language in Ghanaian schools.

He said an overhaul of the pedagogy for Arabic language in the education system through a consultative approach was needed to ensure that proper structures were put in place for the country to fully benefit from the study of Arabic as an international language.

He urged the country to pay attention to the shift of the global economy towards the Middle East, which meant more countries are forming new diplomatic and business alliances with Arab-speaking countries.

“As a nation, we need to take advantage of this emerging development, and more efforts are needed to get the teaching of the language in schools structured,” Dr. Yeliba said.

Dr. Yebila gave the recommendation when he spoke at a youth Qur’anic engagement at the Kumasi Central Mosque.

He observed that the restructuring would also ensure that Arabic teachers and instructors are well maintained and motivated to effectively deliver on their mandate.

Currently in Ghana, the Arabic language known as Arabiya is an examinable subject at the senior high school level.

It is also taught as courses at the tertiary level for some university programmes.

Arabiya is an examinable subject in Ghanaian secondary schools and one of the languages taught at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in some universities in the country.

Over the years, education experts and advocates have lamented the poor working conditions of Arabic teachers, prompting some political actors to make campaign promises to address the issue as the country nears its general election.

Internationally, it has been the official language of 22 countries and the language of the Qur’an, the religious book of over 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide.

About 422 million people worldwide are estimated to speak the fifth most spoken language in the world.