MOSCOW, November 24 (Sputnik) — The Federal National Council (FNC) of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is set to discuss on Tuesday the law to increase the use of the Arabic language in the country, The National has reported.
According to the newspaper, FNC members are expected to promote a legislation ensuring that Arabic is the language of instruction in state schools and universities during the upcoming session.
FNC's education, youth and media committee, chaired by Dr. Mona Bahar, has been studying the decrease in the use of the Arabic language in education, society and government communication over the past year. The results of the study led Bahar to say that a new law to protect the Arabic language would be discussed.
"Right now there are policies to support the Arabic language, but they will not be effective until they turn into a legislation or become mandatory," she was quoted as saying by The National, adding that other countries had similar legislation in place to protect their languages.
Arabic is said to be underused in UAE schools and universities, despite being the official language in the country. As a result, students graduate with low proficiency in their own native language.
The FNC's committee believes Arabic is not used as widely as it could, with certain universities and schools having classes taught in English.
