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TAXILA: Federal Minister for Religious Affairs Sardar Mohammad Yousaf said this Saturday that groundwork to introduce Arabic into the curriculum, as a compulsory language up to the senior secondary (SSC) level, has been completed.
Speaking to the press at Wah Cantonment on Sunday, the minister added that the project would be initiated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) before being phased into other provinces.
The minister also discussed the upcoming Haj operation saying that all possible facilities will be provided to pilgrims from both public and private sectors, including an improved bus service in Saudi Arabia. He added that a draft Haj policy had also been finalised and that an electronic Haj monitoring system was being introduced.
The minister said this year’s Haj would be exemplary as the government is making every effort to facilitate the pilgrims.
Mr Yousaf also said that, according to the new Haj policy, 57,000 applicants will be selected under the government’s scheme this year. He added that 127,000 applications have already been received and that the selection process will end by May 20.
The minister said that, during their stay at the Haji camp, the pilgrims will be vaccinated for meningitis and other diseases. He said that the government of Turkey had provided the meningitis vaccines and that all the pilgrims would receive it free of cost.
Published in Dawn, May 19th, 2014
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May 19, 2014 10:25am
For God's sake. Why??? Have you ever ever observed a student who studies Arabic in school and can recite Quran by virtue of that. It is always through domestic tutions that we study Quran. Why you burden a student for three languages. Does this make us more better Muslim???? the answer is big NO. You can teach him character building, eithics but for heaven's sake not another language that is certainly not ours. Arabs are Arabs and we are we and let us be proud of ourselves. Instaed these mullahs should translate the Quran in Urdu so it is well understood. This holy book is for adherence and not mere reciting. God bless us all
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May 19, 2014 10:48am
How many languages Pakistani pupils will study? Urdu as their national language, mother tongue (Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto), English as global language and now Arabic as their Religious language....
And if they keep learning so many languages then when will they focus on Maths and science???
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May 19, 2014 12:57pm
It is the work of education minister to suggest changes in curriculum. The N-League government has ministers who do not know what are their official responsibilities, and where they are doing work of another ministry. Further after 18th amendment it is provincial subject to design curriculum. In KP PTI led coalition is entitled to do such things. What a mess this minister of N-League has made.
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May 19, 2014 01:31pm
Good God! No! Is there a more reprehensible people or language? I'd sooner be forced to study French or even Japanese than Arabic. What good can it bring?
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May 19, 2014 02:04pm
What a silly idea. Arabic should be optional, not compulsory. English and all Pakistani languages should be compulsory, not Arabic.
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May 19, 2014 02:09pm
It should be made flexible. Students should have the option to choose between Urdu or Arabic as the first and second language.
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May 19, 2014 02:10pm
Excellent step, Pakistan should move towards a union with the GCC. Arabic is an excellent language to learn, not only in perspective to religion due to which it will combat extremism when people actually know what they are reading in the Quran as opposed to just learning, memorizing and recitation but arabic is also widely spoken in africa and across the middle east. Will be a plus point for pakistanis seeking jobs in MENA.
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May 19, 2014 02:31pm
It's the language Allah(swt) chose to deliver his message, but you care less.
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May 19, 2014 02:36pm
Ok let the poor people read the Arabic in schools. I am not going to send my children in such schools like the Elite of Pakistan does.
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May 19, 2014 02:38pm
Think before you even propose let alone implement. There wont be enough competent teachers to teach it and it will disadvantage the students. Let this be optional and not to be part of the grading.
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May 19, 2014 02:48pm
@Malik Well said....it should finally move to be the national language of the country called ISLAMIC republic of Pakistan...
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May 19, 2014 03:03pm
In my humble opinion if the government really follow through on this decision then May God bless them. It will be a great favor to the next generation who will understand Arabic and will be able to understand Quran and Hadith properly and hopefully not follow the general maulana's in the masajids across the country who twist the facts from Quran because they know the general population have no clue about Arabic. This will also help the people to stay away from all these interpretations of Quran from different groups in the name of islam and their twisted ideologies etc. I hope and pray for this decision to benefit all the Pakistanis Inshallah.
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May 19, 2014 03:29pm
By reading thoughts of Pakistanis everyday in Dawn, I am too becoming insane and thinking when Arabs and China are going to introduce Urdu in their School's curriculum...? At least for good-will gesture towards Pakistan, they should publish this news too in Al-jazeera or in Xinhua.
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May 19, 2014 04:26pm
Im an Indian closely watching Pakistani politics nowadays to learn lessons for our subcontinent:
I'd say everything wrong with sectarianism in your nation state can be elucidated from the first line :
"the project would be initiated in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) before being phased into other provinces"...
kyu janaab baaki subo ke log , aasmaan se tapke hain !?
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May 19, 2014 04:37pm
I am from Karachi during 1985-86 we were taught Arabic then after the demise of Mr Zia, PPP government pull out arabic and Sindhi syllabus was increased. Trust me we had been asked to learn a poem in Sindhi, a letter to teacher or editor in Sindhi etc and wasted millions of hours of poor nation. On the contrary I still be able to use some of Arabic words I learnt then as I am settled in Gulf. Just for the sake of wisdom give me one good logical reason what Sindhi language has given to us, it has less literature than Arabic. We can have a lead over other Arab nations in getting jobs in GCC. I appreciate this step and wish other provinces to follow the same and continue this and include other important and future languages like Chinese etc.
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May 19, 2014 04:42pm
another try to make somebody happy or is it to get more dollars . Pakistani kids in dubai dont learn arabic in school
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May 19, 2014 05:05pm
The whole country is in agony and pain, grief prevails in every walks of life, people are being killed day in a day out. Folks. Tears are the silent language of grief. Let us understand it first..
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May 19, 2014 05:26pm
While I respect religious sentiments of all, Arabic is only a language and foreign at that. Yes, it should be offered to students interested in it as an option. As a nation we'd be far better positioned if English was taught properly instead. We have our own several vernaculars. Let's stick to these and get our children to learn that makes them better educated in sciences and other vocational subjects. Turkey only prospered when Ata Turk dropped Arabic including the Arabic script for the Turkish language to make the nation truly prosperous democratic state. A lesson for us here? Or do we want to take retrograde steps into the dark age?
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May 19, 2014 05:53pm
Arabic, Urdu and Persian should be optional languages.
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May 19, 2014 06:14pm
I think students should stop learning English and Urdu, to give full attention to Arabic. Government should start news reading on TV in Arabic as well, as General Zia had done. Work in government offices can also be done in Arabic, if all officers and subordinates are given notices to learn Arabic in one year. Soon all Muslim countries would adopt this change. And that would be great help in separating ourselves from the rest of the world, and build our own Global village, where Arabic language would replace all technologies and scientific advancement. Amen! I am sure the souls of Sir Sayyed Ahmad Khan and Quid-Azam, too, would celebrate this change in heaven!
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May 19, 2014 10:22pm
no arabic
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May 19, 2014 11:27pm
Another conspiracy of Middle Easterners to acquire Arabic speaking slaves from Pakistan, good shot!
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May 19, 2014 11:38pm
What a sham! We Pakistani's have no identity. Shame on us that have no culture of our own. Religion is a personal choice. If someone wants to learn the Arabic language for business or spiritual reasons, he/she should do it at his/her own cost, not at the government's cost which is basically from my pocket through tax.
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May 19, 2014 11:58pm
This is excellent news. Being bilingual is a necessity in today's world. Kudos to this step.
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May 20, 2014 05:45am
This is going full Circle, i remember being taught Arabic, during Zia's regime, gained nothing from it, lost all that money, and now doing it again, Can we please learn from history. Next brilliant idea, change shalwar kameez to arabi chogha as our national dress.
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May 20, 2014 09:28am
Everything in Pakistan becomes compulsory, or prohibited. People are being reduced to herding animals with no choice. Why call it Pakistan anymore, the hopes of every citizen, home or abroad have been dashed, there is no end or outlet.
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May 20, 2014 09:44am
Congratulations to PTI & Imran Khan for this long-awaited introduction! If only, many of them, knew the advantages of classical or literary Arabic (rather than rote learning, rote recitation and khatm or completion of the Quran only instead of practising the knowledge and wisdom IT preaches, in Pakistan), both, for spiritual development and secular reasons - esp. increase their employment opportunities in MENA and as one of the five official languages of the UN; rather than making naive, hilarious, immature, and even racist arguments and statements inside this article and the Facebook comments section!
A British-Pakistani professional and Intl. Development management consultant
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May 20, 2014 11:07am
Thanks to dawn for publishing my above comment.
By the way, folks, I am now an ex-supporter of PTI, however, if their government is going to introduce or take positive steps in the betterment of Pakistan and its people in any issues, I'll be there to congratulate and support them, without any prejudice or bias, for those 'good causes'.
Please reflect and rationalise, objectively and without prejudice, with what they are about to introduce and, no doubt, God/Allah (swt) will be well-pleased with you, as a nation. It seems from 'abroad looking within' that the whole nation appears to be in the most arduous and challenging Trials & Tribulations for the last 35+ years, if not less.
And, many of us feel great empathy for our grief-stricken, poverty-stricken people, and anyone in dire consequences; and in addition at least to the security of all and those of us who still have relations and families in Pakistan!
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May 20, 2014 04:49pm
No need to fret. The facebook/twitter generation of native arabs is already abandoning arabee for english. This initiative from the dinosaur generation is a non-starter.
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May 23, 2014 09:51pm
We have NOTHING in common with Arabs.
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