A historic overview of Arabic – Quran Education in Ghana in the light of President Mahama’s recent promising announcement about Islamic education

The recent an­nouncement on this year’s Eid al-Adha by President John Dramani Mahama to enhance the operation of the Islamic Education Unit IEU) by recruiting qualified Arabic teachers is timely and most welcome. This article views the announcement in the light of the history of the development of Islamic education, with special reference to the key issue of the Arabic- Quran factor.

The problem of getting Arabic and the Quran woven into the fabric of the national education curriculum dates as far back as the period of British colonial rule. In 1896, a school was established at Ekrawfo in the Central Region for the Muslims. It was the first Mus­lim school to be put on the list of schools receiving assistance from the British Government. After op­erating for twelve years, the school finally collapsed principally due to the absence of the Quran and Ara­bic from the school’s curriculum. It was deemed unsuitable to Mus­lims for the fact that the absence of the Quran and Arabic factors would and will negate against their moral and spiritual training, while promoting their physical and secular wellbeing, thereby bringing a great imbalance in their training. The Ekrawfo School collapsed not because Muslims regarded the teaching of English as un-Islam­ic, but to the fact that there was no Quran Arabic “Spices” in the Islamic education “soup”.

In 1932, the Muslim Action, a non–political organisation, was formed in Accra to take care of Muslim educational and social welfare.

In 1942, they fielded Bankole Awoonor-Reiner as their candidate to contest the municipal elections. In 1948, they declared support for the United Gold Coast Con­vention (UGCC) as the country geared itself up for an era of great political agitations and activities. When Nkrumah broke away from the UGCC and formed the Convention Peoples Party (CPP), the Muslim Association declared support for the more promising CPP on condition that they would provide Islamic schools to the Muslims. This was reflected in the CPP manifesto of 1950 before elections: ‘’ Under self-Govern­ment, taxes will still be levied on all who should pay taxes, but the CPP will ensure that taxation brings with it social, educational, medical, cultural and economic rewards for the whole commu­nity, which was help to cover the provision of Muslim schools where Arabic and the Scriptures (Quran) would be taught in addition to the normal curriculum ‘’ (CPP 1950 Manifesto ) by ‘’ normal curricu­lum ‘’ is meant the secular subjects (English, Arithmetic, Geography, Pottery, Handwork, Nature Studies, social studies etc). Thus, by the phrase’’ Arabic and the scriptures in addition to the normal curricu­lum ‘’ is meant the fact that besides Arabic and the Quran, Muslims wanted the inclusion of secular subjects in their curriculum of studies. For its failure to honour its promises, the Muslims withdrew their support from the CPP in 1953 and later formed the Muslim Action Party (MAP) to contest mu­nicipal and national elections. The MAP then joined in alliance with the National Liberation Movement (NLM) of Baffuor Akoto, and the Northern People’s Party (NPP) of Jatoe Kaleo and Dombo to become the United Party (UP) that was led by Busia. The vital issue of the inclusion of the Quran – Arabic in the national Curriculum was ignored in all the subsequent political dispensations that ruled this country after the overthrow of Nkrumah’s CPP in 1966. These are (Ankrah – Afrifa, Busia, Acheam­pong, Liman). Till the advent of the PNDC (Provisional National Defence Council) of J.J. Rawlings (1981 – 1992). Under, the secretary of Education, Dr Muhammad Ben Abdallah the Islamic Education Unit (IEU), a segment of the min­istry of Education, was formed, initially to coordinate the develop­ment and activities of Arabic – En­glish schools in the North. Initially in the North for the fact that the challenges faced by Muslims in the North were more acute than in the south. Thus, as far back as the 1940’s Muslims in the South, by dent of hard work, had preceded the North in the development of the Arabic – English schools. Yet the crux of the challenge facing Muslims in the entire country (North and South) was getting the Government put the salaries of these Arabic teachers on its payroll. Thereby, lifting the heavy burden of payment of Arabic teachers from the shoulders of Islamic education. This in turn will attract more pupils to such schools.

It may be remarked in passing that as far back as 1973, the Ghana Education, in an attempt to induce Muslim Pupils to attend public school, ingeniously “grafted’’ the secular subjects taught in Public schools to the Makaranta schools to create the Makaranta- Secular school ‘’ seedlings’’ that later ger­minated into the popular Arabic- English schools. The results of attendance were fantastic. Quoting a source, we read: ‘’ By 1984 there were 101 primary and 13 Middle, English – Arabic schools with a total enrolment of 14,152 pupils ‘’ (GESFileNo Ep491/VI/18).

Thus buttressing, the point once more, that Muslims wanted a com­bination of secular subjects with the Quran- Arabic subject in their curriculum.

J.J. Rawlings from (1981-1992) to (1992-2000) used to pay a couple of Arabic teachers in a whole Islamic basic school, thereby initiating the era of putting Arabic teachers on the government’s pay­roll. Simultaneously, he continued with the construction of more Ar­abic–English schools in the North.

Kufuor (2000-2008) continued with the payment that was effected from the youth Employment pay roll. Mills (2008- 2010) followed by Mahama (2010 – 2016) and Akufo-Addo (2016 – 2024), sim­ilarly continued the good works of their predecessors. But as the years went by, its effectiveness continued to dwindle. The first suggestion here is therefore that “to enhance the operation of the Islamic Education Unit by the recruitment of qualified Arabic teachers” their salaries must be moved from that of the Youth Employment to the same pay roll of the Controller and Accountant General enjoyed by teachers of the G.E.S. This will bring in stability and permanency. The promise to put up more infrastructures at the Al-Farouq College of Education at Wenchi is most welcome. They have been advertising to that effect in the past for the fact that it is a relatively new College established not long ago. In the same vein, the promise to establish a schol­arship scheme for the training of Muslims and Northerners in the advanced fields of Medicine, En­gineering, law the social sciences, and communication technology is also timely. These measures are necessitated by the fact that due to the abundance of natural resources in the south the British developed, exclusively, the South, so that the manpower to work in the mines and on the cocoa farms came from the North. To compensate the North in education and manpower development, the British are said to have bequeathed some heavy sum of money to the next government which Kwame used in the free edu­cation for the Northerners. In pur­suance of this old policy, Rawlings put up the University of Develop­ment Studies (UDS) in the North, besides stepping up road construc­tion and hospital development. In short, Mahama is only continuing a policy of upliftment of Muslims and Northerners that dates back to the era of the British. A nation is strengthened by improving the conditions of the weak, namely the poor, destitute and underdeveloped in its midst.

All the Islamic sects must there­fore get involved in this national exercise by liaising with the Islamic Education Unit. These are: The Tijaniyya Sufi Movement, the Ahal Sunna Wa Jamaat, the Ghana Muslims Mission, the Ahmadiyya Movement and the Shia.

May God make the programme succeed and more grease to the Pres’s elbows

Conclusion

The above-mentioned measures to be pursued by the Mahama Administration are timely and most welcome. It will augment our manpower resources by a wide margin and strengthen the nation in the development of its manpow­er resources.

BY KHALID KOFI AHMAD

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