Qatar University celebrated the graduation of a new batch of students of the Arabic for Non-Native Speakers Center at a ceremony held yesterday in the presence of a number of university officials, faculty members and students.
 The list of graduates includes more than 60 students from 30 nationalities who have received a high standard of education to develop their communication skills in standard Arabic, and listening, reading, writing and speaking courses as well as various cultural aspects.
Director of the Arabic for Non-Native Speakers Center Dr Abdullah Abdul Rahman said in a statement that the centre receives annually 60 to 70 students, among the large number of applications which may reach up to 2,000 to join Arabic language programmes from different countries based on partnerships signed by the university with its counterparts around the world.
He predicted that the capacity of the centre will increase during the coming years, thanks to the university’s expansion in its various programmes and partnerships around the world, pointing out at the same time to Qatar’s initiative to teach Arabic to non-Arabic speakers. This was also announced during the meetings of the Asian Co-operation Dialogue held in Doha recently.
In his speech at the ceremony, the director said that the centre has succeeded through the university in signing more than 30 agreements with many of the world’s leading universities, thus providing opportunities for exchange through a package of study scholarships to its members. He pointed out that the centre plays a vital role in strengthening relations between Qatar and different countries of the world through its scholarships presented to nationals of these countries and in the interests of the state. The Arabic for Non-Native Speakers Center offers its programmes to students within Qatar and abroad who do not speak Arabic as their mother language. Admission procedures for students at the centre are implemented in the International Students Section in co-ordination with the centre.