Culture & Education | Friday 11 November, 2016 4:30 am |

Lughati, the Sharjah-based initiative dedicated to supporting Arabic learning the smart way, concluded its inaugural “Lughati Cup 2016” competition yesterday, and announced the first, second, and third-place winners. The competition finale took place at the initiative’s booth set up at the 35th edition of the Sharjah International Book Fair (SIBF). Attending the final round was His Excellency Marwan Al Sawaleh, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Education, and His Excellency Ali Al Hosani, Secretary-General of the Sharjah Education Council.

At the finale of the 9-day competition, the first place was awarded to Abdullah bin Al Mubarak Model Primary School with a total of 97 points, while Fatima bint Abdulmalek School earned the second place with 90 points, and finally Ashbiliya Primary School earned the third place with 68 points.

Badria Al Ali, Manager of the Lughati initiative, said: “We are very proud today of the achievements made by Lughati Cup 2016 in its first inaugural round, which saw huge success and wide participation from across Sharjah’s schools. Through the competition, we seek to further our objective of creating a new generation with a mastery over the Arabic language, who will not hesitate to utilise it confidently in all walks of life.”

Al Ali confirmed that the Lughati initiative still has a lot more to give to support the Arabic language, and to endear it to students using simple, modern, mixed technology methods.

The first-place winner was awarded the Lughati Cup, in addition to an AED 10,000 cash prize. The second-place winner received AED 7,000 while the third-place winner received AED 5,000.

During the closing ceremony, the members of the judging panel recognised by the Ministry of Education, were honoured in a show of appreciation for their efforts and contributions in making the competition one of the most successful projects supporting Arabic language education using smart methods.

The initiative to support Arabic language education in Sharjah’s schools using new technology was launched in 2013 by His Highness Dr. Sheikh Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah. It is one amongst numerous initiatives that aim to develop the educational sector in the emirate and to preserve and endear the Arabic language to students by incorporating attractive and modern methods into the learning process. Taking on a new identity, the initiative to support smart Arabic language learning was rebranded as the ‘Lughati’ initiative, which received an approval by HH Sultan Al Qasimi in January 2016.