Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater with other officials during the event.
Doha: The Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MoEHE) organised yesterday the second edition of the Arabic Language Forum for private schools and kindergartens.
The forum is being organised this year with the slogan ‘Arabic Language in Private Schools: Challenges and Opportunities,’ with the participation of an elite of experts and researchers.
Held under the patronage of Minister of Education and Higher Education H E Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater, the two-day forum will give the participants the chance to discuss key themes related to curricula, teacher competencies, educational innovation, academic partnerships, and envisioning the future of the Arabic language in multilingual school environments.
In his opening speech, Assistant Undersecretary for Private Education Affairs at MoEHE Omar Abdulaziz Al Naama, expressed his happiness at participating in the forum opening, which brings together participants to enhance the status of the Arabic language in private schools.
He expressed his belief that private schools are a strategic partner in the educational system, pointing out the ministry’s keenness on global openness in them, as well as its commitment to ensuring that the Arabic language remains strongly present.
Director of Private Schools and Kindergarten Department and Acting Director of the Private School Licensing Department at MoEHE Dr. Rania Yousry Mohamed, said that the forum is being organised based on the recommendations of its first edition, in addition to the approaching World Arabic Language Day, which falls on December 18.
As part of supporting efforts to develop Arabic education, she called for encouraging schools and relevant institutions to build AI-powered Arabic digital platforms and enabling teachers to use these tools in classrooms, stressing that AI remained a supportive tool and not a substitute for human interaction in the educational process.
During the forum, an announcement has been made on the formation of a team to develop the Arabic language in private schools in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, in a first step that will be followed by others that include all Arab countries, considering that the GCC countries are similar in terms of identity, culture, opportunities and challenges related to child education and teaching the Arabic language in private schools.
The team aims to develop a joint strategic plan to develop the Arabic language education in the GCC counties’ private schools, including general objectives and key success indicators, as well as to monitor the implementation of joint programmes and initiatives and measure their impact on the quality of Arabic education and learning outcomes.
