Sign language

By making an almost big deal of the introduction of a diploma course in Arabic from October, as part of the government's 'investment' in an Arabic-speaking workforce, the education minister signalled a confession that the authorities have not been far-sighted enough about the inevitable future.

The minister of education premised the initiative on Malta's position as the southernmost member of the EU, which emphasised its role as a "bridge" and opened "a sea of opportunities" in the 21 Arab countries with 250 million inhabitants. Hyperbole aside, fact is that Malta's location did not come about due to some unexpected seismic shift in the Mediterranean.

Fact also is that membership of the EU did not happen overnight. The Nationalists have always wanted it, bar a foreign secretary now and then. Even if it was not an on-the-cards certainty, successive governments should have done all that was within their power to prepare for a growing role for Malta.

Promoting a good widespread grasp of Arabic would have hit two birds with one stone. Even if membership was still a bird in the bush, geographic location was one in the hand. Investing for membership in this particular manner would not have been a waste of time and resources.

Since a certain Dom Mintoff had, as a controversial prime minister made his own at times, but not always, idiosyncratic analysis of geo-political realties, and tried to embed Arabic in Malta's human resource base at an early age, the education minister felt he had to distance himself from Mr Mintoff's style, though he could not do so regarding his late recognition of the objective.

The minister was at pains to emphasise that the diploma course would be attended on a voluntary, not a compulsory, basis. Careful about his political rearguard, he was not similarly alert about the upcoming implications of the government's plans.

These include a facility to civil servants to attend the course, which would require two days a week absence from work. Making a virtue out of not having been duly farsighted is one thing. Piling on fresh silliness is another.

It is hardly the case that good and committed civil servants - as opposed to some who rarely break sweat but would never bypass a freebie - can be spared two days out of a five-day week. A creaking bureaucracy will groan further under the strain.

Why was not the diploma course offered as an evening one, with the promise that civil servants who completed it successfully, in their own time, would be given a suitable allowance? Why is not Arabic included as, for a while, a 'desirable' subject and, later on, as a requirement for advancement to specified positions?

The government is ill-advised to try to make up for lost time in this manner. An evening course would probably take two years instead of one, though it could be graduated in such a manner that the first year leads to a partial qualification. There are some excellent teachers of Arabic at the university. They could map out a sound way forward. Thereby the central administration would not be weakened, and the authorities would be able to confirm the motivation of those who enrolled.

It would certainly be more advantageous for more individuals, in the private as well as in the public sector, to have a sound grounding in Arabic. That applies in particular to technical persons who may be deployed or seek independent work in Arab countries. It would be more than opportune to feed that consideration into the planning of courses offered by MCAST.

In parallel, one should identify in further focus what language skills one needs in the Arab world. Those familiar with the area know that French is very broadly used there (Morocco, Algeria, Tunis, Egypt), much more so than English (though that language is useful right across) and Italian (Libya). If opportunities to our south are to be placed in the right framework, French too should be encouraged from an early age.

In all cases the government should use clear - not sign - language to explain the advantages for those who wish to prepare themselves for the challenges and opportunities of a future that has already started.