Arabic Proficiency Declines
By Abdul Rahim Mohd Taib Shafiyl Azahari

Tutong - The Arabic language proficiency of students of the Sultanate's religious schools has been in decline, Brunei educators said yesterday.

Ustazah Umi Kalthum Mohd Noor, principal of Brunei Islamic College, lamented that students particularly in Form One to Three have shown poor command of the Arabic language.

She emphasised this assessment of the' religious academic performance of the college during a briefing for the Minister of Religious Affairs, Pehin Jawatan Luar Pekerma Raja Dato Seri Utama Dr Ustaz Awang Mohd Zain Serudin.

A similar problem is observed among Form Four-Five students at the Pengiran Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Damit Arabic Religious Secondary School, Jalan Tutong, according to the school principal Datin Dayang Piah Md Saat.

In response, Pehin Dato Dr Ustaz Awang Mohd Zain Serudin gave some important suggestions and ideas to help the teachers cope with the challenge of encouraging students to polish up on the language.

Ustaz Hilmi Mustafa, an Arabic language teacher at Brunei Islamic College, Tutong, explained that the lack of basic knowledge in Arabic language can be traced to the quality of instruction the students receive at the initial stages of language education..

"They (students) should try to converse in Arabic and need not have to worry about grammar because we (teachers) will correct the mistakes," said Ustaz

Hilmi. "Students shouldn't be too shy."

He said that the college has been observing Arabic Language Days on Mondays and Tuesdays to encourage students and teachers to converse in Arabic. Through this initiative, the college expects the students try harder at learning the language and speaking it on a daily basis.

To date, however, the initiative has yet to show concrete results.

As suggested by the minister, teachers said they may have to use more stick-ons to help the students familiarise themselves with simple Arabic words and phrases used in daily and informal conversations.

These stick-ons can be pasted on walls round the premises of schools.

"I believe the social environment is also another factor that has led to the failure to encour age students to speak Arabic well enough," Ustaz Hilmi said.

"But that is not a reason for us to ignore the problem.

"We still have a lot of work to do, we need someone who is creative to, generate ideas on how to help our students improve their command of the Arabic language."

Meanwhile, the minister yesterday visited Kampong Sinaut Mosque as part of the Safari Ramadan 2006 program, which is the annual working visit of the minister to mark the fasting month.

The minister visited select mosques and religious schools and presented certificated to the winners of the Mosque Landscape competition in the Tutong district for Zones One and Two.

The winner for Zone One, Imam Sufri Mega, received a certificate and $1000 for the

Kampong Penapar Mosque, while Kampong Sinaut Mosque won the Zone II category.

Judging was based on, among others, cleanliness of the mosque landscape.

Imam Masri Mohammad from Kampong Sinaut Mosque explained that cooperation from several agencies is important' in maintaining cleanliness of the Mosque's surroundings.

He also expressed his gratitude to government agencies that have helped them to achieve the much sought-after win.

He said the mosque arranged for people to help out with the campaign twice a week, maintaining and keeping the garden clean.

He also thanked the staff of the mosque and residents of the nearby villages for all their assistance.  -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

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