Senate approves bill making Arabic language compulsory in educational institutions

ISLAMABAD: The Senate on Monday passed the Compulsory Teaching of Arabic Language Bill, 2020 aimed at making the teaching of Arabic compulsory in all public and private educational institutions of Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT).

The bill was moved by PML-N Senator Muhammad Javed Abbasi in the upper house of the parliament.

The bill states that Arabic will be taught in schools in Islamabad from grades 1 to 5, while Arabic grammar will be taught to grades 6 to 12.

Javed Abbasi said Arabic has been included in the top five languages spoken in the world and was also an official language of 25 countries.

He said Arabic should be taught as a compulsory language in all educational institutions.

Terming the bill the best one, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said govt “categorically supported” the bill. He said this step should be taken 70 years ago.

Senators Mushtaq Ahmed, Maulana Ghafoor Haideri, Sirajul Haq and others also appreciated Javed Abbasi for bringing the bill in the upper house.