The Ministry of Education has dismissed claims circulating in the public domain that it intends to impose the teaching of Arabic on Ghanaian students.
The Ministry described the reports as misinformation and misconceptions, stressing that there is no policy or directive to make Arabic a compulsory subject for students in Ghana’s public schools.
In a statement issued on Tuesday, August 11, by the Press Secretary to the Minister for Education, Hashmin Mohammed, the Ministry said the development of a standardised curriculum for Arabic is intended to regulate and improve the teaching of the language in schools where it is already offered.
The Ministry said the process to develop the standardised curriculum predates the appointment of Education Minister Haruna Iddrisu and began with a review of the Arabic curriculum at the senior high school level about four years ago.
It explained that Arabic has been taught in English-Arabic or Islamic schools in Ghana for decades, but there had previously been no officially approved standardised curriculum across the schools.
According to the Ministry, the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA) therefore developed a standardised Arabic language curriculum to provide structure, consistency and quality assurance in the teaching and learning of the language.
It said the curriculum is intended for schools where Arabic is already taught and any other public primary school that may choose to introduce the language in the future.
The Ministry also sought to separate the teaching of Arabic as a language from religious instruction, emphasising that Arabic should not automatically be associated with or interpreted as the promotion of Islam.
“The Ministry wishes to state categorically that there is no policy or directive to impose the study of Arabic on Ghanaian students.
“For the avoidance of doubt, Arabic is a language, not a religion. The teaching and learning of Arabic should therefore not be misconstrued as the promotion or imposition of any religious belief.”
The Ministry said Arabic, like French and other foreign languages apart from English, remains an optional subject in Ghana’s public schools and is not compulsory for Ghanaian students generally.
It noted that hundreds of Islamic schools across the country already teach Arabic, primarily in response to the educational and linguistic needs of their communities.
The clarification follows public discussions and concerns over the role of Arabic in Ghana’s education system, particularly following the development of the standardised Arabic language curriculum by NaCCA.
The Ministry urged the public, media practitioners and other stakeholders to verify information from authoritative sources before circulating claims that could create fear, misunderstanding or religious tension.
Read the full statement below.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MINISTRY OF EDUCATION CLARIFIES MISINFORMATION ON THE TEACHING OF ARABIC IN SCHOOLS
1.The Ministry of Education has taken note of widespread misinformation and misconception circulating in the public domain suggesting that the Honourable Minister for Education, Haruna Iddrisu, is seeking to impose the teaching of Arabic on Ghanaian students.
2.The Ministry wishes to state categorically that there is no policy or directive to impose the study of Arabic on Ghanaian students.
3.For the avoidance of doubt, Arabic is a language, not a religion. The teaching and learning of Arabic should therefore not be misconstrued as the promotion or imposition of any religious belief.
4.The Ministry further wishes to clarify that the process to develop a standardised curriculum for the teaching and learning of Arabic predates the appointment of Honourable Haruna Iddrisu as Minister for Education. It began with revision of the curriculum at the senior high school level some four years ago.
5. The official recognition of Arabic, as part of the primary school curriculum led to the establishment of English-Arabic or Islamic schools in the country some decades ago.
6. Hitherto, the teaching and learning of Arabic in these schools have been without any officially approved standardised curricula for all the schools. Each school has been implementing its own Arabic curriculum.
7. The National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), as part of its mandate, therefore developed a unitary and standardised official Arabic language curriculum, to regulate its teaching and learning in these schools.
8. NaCCA’s recommendation to the Honourable Minister, for the adoption of this new Arabic language curriculum was therefore meant for only these schools and any other public primary school, which may want to Implement it in the future. It was never meant to make the language a mandatory or compulsory subject in our primary schools.
9. It is therefore important to emphasise that the teaching of the language in our public schools was initiated years ago before the current Minister for Education assumed office and is not a personal initiative of the Honourable Minister.
10. Indeed, there are already hundreds of Islamic schools across the country where Arabic is taught, primarily in response to the educational and linguistic needs of their communities. The development of a standardised curriculum is intended to provide appropriate structure, consistency and quality assurance for the teaching and learning of the language.
11. The Ministry wishes to make it absolutely clear, that Arabic is not a compulsory subject for Ghanaian students generally. The development of a standardised curriculum does not amount to making Arabic compulsory for non-Muslim students, nor does it constitute an attempt to impose any religion on Ghanaian learners. Indeed, Arabic, just like French or any other foreign language, apart from the English language, remains an optional subject in our public schools.
12. The Ministry therefore urges the public, media practitioners and all stakeholders to verify information from authoritative sources before drawing conclusions or circulating claims that may unnecessarily create fear, misunderstanding or religious tension.
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