Hyderabad: Maulana Azad National Urdu University (MANUU), Andhra Pradesh, is all set to propose an innovative academic exchange programme with Universities of Saudi Arabia. This announcement was made by Mohammad Miyan, Vice-Chancellor (VC), at a seminar conducted, recently. Speaking at the seminar, he affirmed that with the approval from the Government of India (GOI), the University would start the exchange programme quite soon. The topic of the seminar was Teaching Arabic language in India: curricula and scope for promotion.
According to an official statement, Ali Mohd. Al-Shehri, Cultural Envoy at Saudi Arabia's Embassy in New Delhi, has also appreciated the proposed initiative of academic exchange, which will involve Indian universities offering Arabic courses along with their Saudi counterparts. In addition, King Abdullah Centre for Arabic in Riyadh has been identified as an apposite institution, to be a part of this innovative programme.
Discussing about the importance of Arabic language, the Saudi Cultural diplomat, mentioned that Islam is the fundamental force which is keeping the usage of Arabic language popular, among Muslims all over the world. The attaché went on to explain that, learning of Arabic language is essential to understand the teachings of Quran and Prophet Mohammed’s message. The statement further described Hyderabad as the centre for Islamic culture in India.
As per sources, at present the Government of India, through University Grants Commission (UGC), is offering Arabic education in around 20 central universities. Commenting on the reach of Arabic language, Zubair Ahmed Farooqui, the Former Head of Department of Arabic, Jamia Millia Islamia, cited that Arabic bags the fifth position amongst the largest spoken languages in the world. However, he further mentioned that the current Arabic teaching system in India is not up to the mark and students should be prepared as per the demands and requirement of the present market conditions.
