Only classical Arabic will be taught in UAE schools
abu dhabi — Teachers who teach Arabic at government and private schools across the UAE will now have to teach lessons using the classical (standard) Arabic language only.
The Ministry of Education took to Twitter on Saturday to make the announcement, as per ministerial decree No (263) of 2017 which was issued to the effect on April 17, making it obligatory to teach and speak in classical Arabic language.
The decision has been made to avoid varying Arabic dialects — of which there are more than 22 — being taught in class, depending on the teacher.
Speaking about the decision, Minister of Education Hussain Al Hammadi said “sanctioning the classical Arabic language to be used to teach the school subjects” shall contribute to its efforts towards promoting Arabic in schools, and will “have an effect on the development of student’s academic performance”.
abu dhabi — It will now be mandatory for teachers in private and public schools across the UAE to teach all subjects in classical Arabic, in order to avoid different dialects being taught across the board. The Ministry of Education made the announcement on Twitter on Saturday, making it obligatory to teach and speak in classical Arabic language, with the effect from April 17. The rule applies to all government and private schools across the country at all grades.
In a series of tweets announcing the decision, Hussain Al Hammadi, Minister of Education said: “Sanctioning the ‘classical Arabic language’ to be used to teach the school subjects shall contribute to our efforts, and will have an effect on the development of student’s academic performance.”
“The Arabic language is the medium that brings together our legacy, heritage, history, identity and civilisation, and devoting it to the next generations is a pressing need,” he added. “Approving the Arabic language to be used in teaching is derived from the ministry’s keenness to cement the national efforts, which aims at bringing the language of Dhad back to its firm position.”
Also taking to Twitter to back the decision was His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. Using the official Twitter handle for the recently launched ‘Mohamed Bin Zayed Award for Best GCC Teacher’ (@mbzaward), he tweeted: “The teacher is the cornerstone of the educational system. (We need to empower) him/her to perform his/her national duty in preparing a generation that is armed with science and knowledge.”
The new decree states that teachers of school subjects, who teach in Arabic language at government and private schools, are committed to teach and speak with students inside the classroom in the classical Arabic language. This criteria would apply to the accreditation and control, professional licensing, recruitment and assessment of teachers’ performance. “The Ministry of Education and Abu Dhabi Education Council (Adec) are keen on empowering students to make them proficient in their mother tongue, and boost the connection between students to the vocabularies of the Arabic language, and make it always present in our day-to-day dealings,” tweeted the Adec on Saturday.
Dr Ali Al Nuaimi, director-general of Adec, also tweeted the ministry’s decision and said the authority will organise training programmes as part of the vocational development programmes for teachers on Arabic language communication.
“We will be striving to consolidate the importance of preserving and maintaining the Arabic language, and will assess how important and proficient the Arabic language is among students,” Al Nuaimi tweeted.
“The Arabic language bears aesthetic values. The language of Dhad hosts numerous vocabularies and profound meanings. Applying the decision to use the classical Arabic language falls in with our belief to the significance the language, which mirrors our identity and heritage,” he added in another tweet.