Kerala mulls setting up Arabic varsity

The Kerala State Higher Education Council (KSHEC) has proposed the idea of setting up an Arabic university considering the state's historic, cultural and academic ambience for such a centre of learning.
A detailed project report drawn up by KSHEC on the project was submitted to the state government yesterday.
According to council secretary Dr P Anvar, the proposal was to set up a campus university on the lines of Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) in Delhi.
Apart from courses in Arabic language and literature, studies and research to be promoted by the proposed university would focus on the growing role of the Middle East in world affairs.

The report cited the centuries-old association of Kerala with the Arab world, even pre-dating Islam, and the cultural influence of the Arabs in a variety of spheres, including literature, linguistic and history.
"The proposed university could be a major initiative in bringing to academic focus the fraternal relationship between Kerala and the Arab world," Dr Anvar told PTI.
According to the project report, the proposed university could also become a centre of academic studies and research in a variety of conventional and non-conventional disciplines with a futuristic view.
In the initial phase, the university would offer Post Graduate programmes in MA Arabic Language and Literature, Comparative Linguistics, Comparative Literature, Translation, Classical Languages and Literature, International Studies and Islamic Economics and Finance.