6,500 Arabic teachers offered employment under YEA

Six thousand, five hundred Arabic teachers have been offered employment under the Youth Employment Agency (YEA) to teach Arabic Studies in Islamic schools across the country.

Their engagement is expected to address the human resource deficit facing most Islamic schools that operate under the Ghana Education Service (GES).

Programme

Launching the Arabic Teachers Programme, an initiative of the YEA in Accra yesterday, the Chief Executive Officer of the YEA, Mr  Kobina Obu Beecham Jnr said the agency designed the programme to augment and improve the learning of Arabic and Islamic education in the country.

He said the first exposure to formal education by most pupils in Muslim communities in the country was the Arabic language. 

Last August, the government announced that Arabic Studies would be made an examinable subject at the Basic Education Certificate Examination (BECE) next academic year.

Significance

 According to him, Arabic, like all international languages, had become significant in the promotion of international trade and diplomacy.

“Ghana cannot afford to be left out in this interdependent world where the ability to communicate with other members of the international community in their languages comes with immense benefits,” Mr Beecham said.

He, therefore, implored the teachers to support the GES in its quest to improve on the teaching and learning of Arabic Studies.

Mr Beecham Jnr (second left), addressing the gathering at the launch. With them is the Wangara Chief of the Nima Community, Chief Imoro Baba Issah (right)

Commendation

For his part, the National Chief Imam, Sheikh Usman Nuhu Sharubutu, commended the YEA for the initiative.

According to him, the enrolment of the teachers would also serve as a source of livelihood to them, since most of them were voluntary teachers.