Accra, Aug 12, GNA – The Ministry of Education has rejected claims that it intends to impose the teaching of Arabic on students in Ghanaian schools, describing the reports as misinformation.
A statement signed by Mr Hashmin Mohammed, the Press Secretary to the Minister of Education on Tuesday, said there was “no policy or directive” to make Arabic a compulsory subject for Ghanaian students.
The clarification follows concerns and claims circulating in the public space suggesting that the Ministry of Education was seeking to introduce Arabic as a mandatory subject in schools.
Despite the clarifications, the Ministry stressed that Arabic was a language and should not be equated with a particular religion.
“The teaching and learning of Arabic should, therefore, not be misconstrued as the promotion or imposition of any religious belief,” the statement said.
It said the development of a standardised Arabic curriculum was not initiated by Mr Iddrisu but predated his appointment as education minister.
The statement explained that the process began about four years ago as part of curriculum revisions at the senior high school level.
Arabic had also been part of the primary school curriculum for decades, particularly in English-Arabic and Islamic schools across the country.
However, the statement noted that while hundreds of Islamic schools currently taught Arabic, there had previously been no officially approved standardised curriculum governing its teaching across the various institutions.
The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), acting within its mandate, subsequently developed a unified Arabic Language curriculum to provide greater structure, consistency and quality assurance.
The Ministry clarified that NaCCA’s recommendation for the adoption of the curriculum applied specifically to English-Arabic or Islamic schools and any other public primary schools that may voluntarily choose to implement it.
It said the recommendation was not intended to make Arabic mandatory or compulsory in public primary schools.
“Arabic, just like French or any other foreign language, apart from the English Language, remains an optional subject in our public schools,” the statement said.
It rejected suggestions that the curriculum constituted an attempt to impose Islam or any other religion on students, reiterating that the teaching of a language did not amount to the promotion of a religious belief.
It urged the public to verify claims through authoritative sources before sharing information that could create fear, misunderstanding or religious tension.
GNA
Edited by Agnes Boye-Doe
Reporter: Kodjo Adams [email protected]