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Arabic remains major issue 
for the Indian schools

Arabic language skills continued to remain a major issue for Indian schools in Dubai as the inspection report pointed out ‘weak teaching skills, poor subject knowledge and poor curricula’ as factors contributing to the lack of progress in the Arabic subject.

“The quality of teaching and learning Arabic should improve considerably. Arabic is not being treated on par with other subjects, but, some schools have made significant changes in their methods of teaching Arabic,” said Jameela Al Muhairi, Chief, Dubai Schools Inspection Bureau (DSIB) on the sidelines of the launch of the annual inspection report for Indian and Pakistani schools.

SS Tabrez, Principal, Emirates English Speaking School cited the lack of well-designed Arabic resources as one of the main reasons contributing to the poor Arabic attainment skills.

“The Arabic textbook for students has to be improved. Most students study Arabic as a second-language and the teachers who teach them also need some form of training to understand their difficulties in learning the language,” said Tabrez.

Five key subjects assessed by school inspectors include Science, Islamic Studies, English, Mathematics and Arabic. While Indian schools recorded the highest attainment in Science, the trivial improvement in Arabic was a cause of concern.

“Indian schools need to recruit teachers who demonstrate good subject knowledge and use effective, modern teaching methods,” the report said.

—muaz@khaleejtimes.com