At this online university, Arab students, refugees can now pursue Arabic language degrees

Record ID: 1569946

  • Title: At this online university, Arab students, refugees can now pursue Arabic language degrees
  • Date: 3rd September 2020
  • Summary: ISTANBUL, TURKEY (AUGUST 11, 2020) (REUTERS VIA ZOOM) (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) STUDENT AT UNIVERSITY OF THE PEOPLE AND SYRIAN REFUGEE IN TURKEY, HALA AL-ZAYYAT, SAYING: "Offering courses in Arabic as well as English was a major transformation, this was a big opportunity, really. There are a lot of Syrians, like my relative who just spoke to me and asked me about the programme, showing interest in (joining the University of the People) once the programme in Arabic was open. When it was offered in English, she was not thinking about it. She has to work on her English first and then study for university, which will take some time. She is just like many of my friends who told me that they want to study in Arabic, because they find difficulties studying in English. One of them said her GPA started to decline just because of some subjects that she studies in English."
  • Embargoed: 17th September 2020 10:19
  • Keywords: Arab stuents Arabs Education Middle East Refugees University of the People
  • Location: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK / CAIRO, EGYPT / ALEPPO, SYRIA / ISTANBUL, TURKEY
  • City: RAMALLAH, WEST BANK / CAIRO, EGYPT / ALEPPO, SYRIA / ISTANBUL, TURKEY
  • Country: Palestinian Territories
  • Topics: Education,Egypt,Middle East,Society/Social Issues
  • Reuters ID: LVA009CU4VJH1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: To achieve his dream of pursuing a degree in business administration, Ibrahim Nakhleh faced one large obstacle - the English language.
    But the 36 year-old Palestinian man, who is a factory employee in the West Bank city of Ramallah, recently found a different path to achieve his goal.
    He recently joined a newly-established Arabic language programme at the University of the People, an online and tuition-free university based in California.
    The programme caters to the needs of thousands of Arab students who wish to advance their education while overcoming the language barrier.
    The University of the People offers four-year bachelor degrees entirely taught online with the help of volunteer academics and retired university staff.
    For students like Nakhleh, limited educational opportunities after graduation and financial constraints are major barriers to access post-graduate degrees.
    Project manager of the new Arabic programme, Cairo-based Mohammed Rizkallah, said there is a growing demand for degrees offered in Arabic, especially among the refugee community.
    There are more than 6,500 Arab students from Syria, Yemen, Palestinian territories, Egypt, and others enrolled in the university.
    So far, nearly 4,000 students have applied to join the new programme offered in Arabic which is scheduled to start this month, administrators say.
    Unrest across the Arab region in the last ten years has severely impacted educational institutions and destroyed infrastructure, affecting thousands of Arab students, especially refugees.
    (Production: Saed Howari, Sayed Sheasha, Suheir Sheikh, Mai Shams El-Din)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register