Parents unhappy over lack of Arabic at Indian schools

Abu Dhabi/Dubai: Many schools affiliated to the Central Board of Secondary Schools (CBSE) in India do not offer Arabic as an optional language in grade 9 and 10 in high school.

This is despite having Arabic listed as one of the 27 optional languages provided by the CBSE schools, Gulf News has learnt.

Some school principals in the UAE said there was no demand for Arabic, others said there were not enough qualified teachers.

Qualification

Many parents would like their children to take Arabic as an optional language, as it would serve as an additional qualification to work in the UAE.

Malati Das, principal of the Ajman Indian School, said her school offered the official language of India, Hindi, the South Indian language Malayalam and French as optional languages.

"The majority of schools do not have qualified teachers to teach the optional Arabic language provided by the CBSE. This is because the level is quite advanced. It is a different syllabus altogether. Those who need to take Arabic as one of their optional languages, study on their own outside. We have not given that option," she said.

B.L., parent of a pupil at Abu Dhabi Indian School, said: "We are not against any other languages, like French or Hindi. If any pupils want to study these languages, they should be encouraged. But schools must not impose languages on pupils who are not interested in them.

"We asked for Arabic as an optional language in grade 9 as my son does not like French or Hindi, but he has a good base in Arabic."

B.L. said learning a new language at this stage was an additional burden on the student as they were already under pressure because of the wide syllabus.

B.L. and a group of parents told Gulf News they had approached the school but met with little success.

B.R. Shetty, chairman of the board of governors of Abu Dhabi Indian School, told Gulf News he was not aware of any problems.

"The school principal was instructed to introduce Arabic as the optional language in the high school on Wednesday," said the chairman. Arabic teaching will be provided even if a few pupils opt for it, said Shetty.

Mary George, principal of the Ras Al Khaimah Indian School, said she had introduced Arabic as an optional subject in grade 10.

Al Ain Indian School offers Arabic, apart from Hindi, French and Malayalam, said principal Neelam Upadyay. The Oasis School in Al Ain also offers Arabic as a second language in addition to Malayalam, Bengali and Urdu, said P.K. Manaf, principal.

The Indian Islahi School in Abu Dhabi said it offers Arabic as the second language, apart from Hindi and Malayalam. Al Noor Indian Islamic School also offers Arabic, apart from Urdu and Malayalam.

Our Own English High School in Abu Dhabi does not offer Arabic, but special arrangements are made for languages like Arabic on request, said K. George Mathew, Principal. "We offer Hindi, French and Malayalam."

Many pupils said Arabic as an optional language would make their studies easier. "A circular from my school said they offer other languages," said Biju, a pupil at a prominent school in Abu Dhabi.

V.G.V., a grade 9 pupil, said it would help her if Arabic was available as one of the optional subjects.

"I speak Malayalam at home and my parents can teach me but Arabic is what I learn at school," she said.

The principals of schools that do not offer Arabic said they try to give pupils an opportunity to learn a new language.

Study: Widely spoken

About Arabic

Does your child's school offer Arabic as an optional language? What, according to you, are the disadvantages of not being offered the subject? Tell us at letter2editor@gulfnews.com

My child's school offers Arabic. I don't see any reason why it should be taught in schools, especially in higher classes. There are no disadvantages in not being offered the subject. If we, or any others, are very keen, we can learn it from the many language institutes around this country. Why force the schools?
S.G.
Dubai,UAE
Posted: May 04, 2008, 15:26

It's a shame that schools in the UAE do not offer Arabic. I think the educational department should look into this and make it compulsory for all educational institutions to offer Arabic as an optional language.
Faiz
Dubai,UAE
Posted: May 04, 2008, 14:27

I agree with this. Our kids must be given this opportunity to learn Arabic. If they stay in an Arab country, our kids should know the language.
Abdul
Mysore,India
Posted: May 04, 2008, 12:39

Arabic as an optional language is a good choice. To attempt to impose it is not a good idea. Dubai is growing out to be a city of the world and freedom of choice of languages to operate with is important. The choice of a language also depends on ones culture and other aspects. It again may not be feasible to have Arabic teachers in every school. It may be smarter to have a resource pool from where they can be accessed.
MT
Dubai,UAE
Posted: May 04, 2008, 12:01

I was a student of Dubai Indian High School. Our school provided us with good Arabic teachers back then, whose training has kept my Arabic base (reading and writing) very strong. My efforts of reading name boards after school and to converse with Arab colleagues now has helped improve my Arabic speaking abilities. Theoretical classes are enough to a certain point but fluency in any language comes with practice.
Savitha
Dubai,UAE
Posted: May 04, 2008, 11:46

My son joined the 3rd Grade last year and had started Arabic from the 2nd semester. He picked up the subject quite fast and is very good at it, better than Hindi and other subjects. But I think if he was in the 8th grade it would have been very difficult for him. I find him reading and writing the Arabic language as an advantage as I do not understand the language and he can translate it for me.
Vinita
Dubai,UAE
Posted: May 04, 2008, 11:17