The Ministry of Education has taken note of widespread misinformation and misconception circulating in the public domain suggesting that the Minister for Education, Hon. Haruna Iddrisu, is seeking to impose the study of Arabic on Ghanaian students.
In a statement signed by Hashmin Mohammed, Press Secretary to the Minister, the Ministry wished to state categorically that there is no policy or directive to impose the study of Arabic on Ghanaian students.
The statement clarified that Arabic is a language, not a religion, and that the teaching and learning of the language should not be misconstrued as the promotion or imposition of any religious belief.
According to the Ministry, the process to develop a standardised curriculum for the teaching and learning of Arabic predates the appointment of Hon. Iddrisu as Minister for Education, having begun with a revision of the curriculum at the senior high school level some four years ago.
The statement explained that the official recognition of Arabic as part of the regular school curriculum led to the establishment of officially English-Arabic or Islamic schools in the country some decades ago. Hitherto, it said, the teaching and learning of Arabic in these schools had been without any officially approved standardised curricula, with each school implementing its own Arabic curriculum.
The Ministry noted that the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NaCCA), as part of its mandate, developed a unitary and standardised official Arabic language curriculum to regulate its teaching and learning in these schools.
NaCCA’s recommendation to the Minister for the adoption of the new Arabic curriculum was therefore meant only for these schools and any other public primary school that may wish to implement it in future, the statement said, adding that it was never meant to make the language a mandatory or compulsory subject in public primary schools.
The Ministry stressed that the teaching of the language in public schools was initiated years ago, before the current Minister assumed office, and is not a personal initiative of the Minister.
It further noted that 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, and that the development of a standardised curriculum is intended to provide appropriate structure, consistency and quality assurance for the teaching and learning of the language.
The Ministry wished to make it absolutely clear that Arabic is not a compulsory subject for Ghanaian students. It said 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, noting that Arabic, like French or any other foreign language apart from English, remains an optional subject in public schools.
The Ministry therefore urged 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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