By Ibrahim Khaliluhi Usman
Kumasi Sept. 3, GNA – Dr Adam Umar Yebila, an Arabic Language Expert, has called for an overhaul of the teaching and learning of the Arabic language in the Ghanaian education system.
He said it was time for a consultative approach with all relevant stakeholders on Arabic language education to ensure that proper structures were put in place to ensure that instructors were maintained and provided with appropriate incentives to effectively deliver on their mandate.
Speaking at a youth Qur’anic engagement at the Kumasi Central Mosque, he said it was time Ghana took the teaching and learning of the Arabic language very seriously.
“The global economy is shifting towards the Middle East: more countries are forming new diplomatic and business alliances with them.
“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.
Arabic is an examinable subject in Ghanaian secondary schools and one of the languages taught at undergraduate and postgraduate levels across universities in the country.
Over the years, Arabic instructors in senior high schools have been relegated with little support, receiving very little payment and few benefits.
Globally, the Arabic language is spoken by about 422 million people worldwide and is the fifth most spoken language in the world.
It is the official language of 22 countries and the language of the Qur’an, the religious book of over 1.9 billion Muslims worldwide.
GNA