2nd October, 2021
PRESS RELEASE:
ISLAMIC STUDIES ENDANGERED IN YORUBALAND - MURIC
A group, the
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC), has raised the alarm about the danger
confronting Islamic studies and Arabic language in Yorubaland. The group said
various challenges ranging from lack of subject teachers to syllabus defect face
the teaching of the two subjects in all the states of the South West. It
therefore called on the governments of the region to rise to the occasion as
quickly as possible.
This was
contained in a press statement issued on Saturday 2nd October 2021
by the director and founder of the organisation, Professor Ishaq Akintola.
The statement
reads :
“The teaching of Arabic language and Islamic
Studies (IRK) is gradually disappearing in both primary and secondary schools
in the South West. Most of these schools have no subject teachers for the two
subjects and no effort is being made to recruit teachers for them. Most of
these states only employ teachers of other subjects when they recruit any
teacher at all.
“The tab given to teachers in some of these states
has notes on Bible Knowledge (BK) fully loaded whereas what is found under IRK is:
‘This period is designated for IRS specialist to teach pupils’. The IRK period is
often wasted without the pupils learning anything about the subject due to lack
of teachers, scheme, guide, or textbooks but BK or CRK content for
teaching is readily available.
“We urge the ministries
of education in the Yoruba states, Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo and Ekiti to
urgently address this gross imbalance. Religious education is important to
inculcate the right values and the fear of Allah in the citizenry from
childhood.
“However, the
purpose may be defeated if attention is paid to only one religion at the
expense of another. It should be noted that criminals do not discriminate
between one faith or the other when they pick their victims. The current spate
of insecurity which is affecting people of all faiths should be a lesson to
all.
“Whoever thinks
this is a problem for Muslims alone has missed the point. We are interwoven in
all facets of life. Neither will teaching BK to Muslim children solve the
problem because square pegs will never fit into round holes. A stitch in time
saves nine.
“Those behind the
artificial shortage of teachers of Arabic and IRK are simply setting a booby
trap for future generations of people of all faiths in Yorubaland. The South
West cannot afford to cut its nose to spite its face. We therefore advise the
relevant authorities to investigate the imbalance in the availability of
teachers of IRK, Arabic and BK as well as the lack of teaching aids for IRK
while CRK is over-pampered.”
Professor Ishaq Akintola,
Director,
Muslim Rights Concern (MURIC)
No comments:
Post a Comment