Sharjah: The third phase of Lughati, a Sharjah-based initiative to support Arabic learning using smart devices, was launched on Tuesday with an estimated budget of Dh15 million.
His Highness Dr Shaikh Sultan Bin Mohammad Al Qasimi, Member of the Supreme Council and Ruler of Sharjah, launched the third phase of Lughati at an event at Sharjah City for Humanitarian Services (SCHS).
The launch of the latest instalment of the initiative was conducted in the presence of Shaikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Chairperson of Sharjah Investment and Development Authority (Shurooq) and founder and CEO of Kalimat Group.
Also present at the event was Shaikha Jamila Al Qasimi, Director-General of SCHS; Shaikha Kholoud Al Qasimi, Assistant Undersecretary for Oversight at the Ministry of Education; and other senior officials.
The launch saw Dr Shaikh Sultan visit the various activity and training halls at the Early Learning Centre in SCHS, where he distributed the smart tablets used by the initiative to the students there.
He spoke with the children to find out more about the activities they are involved in, which included artwork, drawing and music. The Ruler of Sharjah also participated in a number of activities and posed for souvenir photographs with the students.
A workshop for SCHS students titled ‘Music Therapy’ was also conducted by a delegation of experts from Korea University in the presence of Dr Shaikh Sultan.
The decision to commence the third phase of the Lughati initiative at SCHS sees the facility’s students benefit from the initiative for the first time since its inception in 2013. The SCHS was selected to receive the smart devices by Lughati’s executive committee, with the decision taken in alignment with 2017 being declared the ‘Year of Giving’ in the UAE.
With an estimated budget of Dh15 million, the third phase of Lughati will cover the distribution of smart tablets to 2,951 students and 76 teachers, with each tablet equipped with the ‘Horouf’ smart application that has been developed by Horouf Educational Publishing, a subsidiary of Kalimat Publishing Group. The allocated funds also provide for training programmes for teachers, field visits and a phase three evaluation once tablet distribution is complete.
“The launch of the third phase of Lughati by [Dr Shaikh Sultan] underlines that the initiative is achieving its objectives of supporting Arabic learning among new generations. Lughati represents one of Sharjah’s core principles to enhance national identity by promoting the value of Arabic language and preserving its culture,” said Badria Al Ali, manager of Lughati.
Implemented over three years from 2013 to 2016, the initiative’s first phase cost Dh17 million and saw 5,060 kindergarten pupils and 232 teachers receive tablet devices. The second phase, with a budget of Dh15.5 million, saw 2,959 first-grade students and 129 teachers in 49 schools receive smart tablets.
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