British Council said in 2017 that "Arabic must be taught in schools"

Jess Staufenberg wrote in the publication 'Schools Week' way back in 2017 about the demand from the British Council that "Arabic must be taught in schools". In the article, the author reports that the language had been identified as "the fourth most important language for future job opportunities, after Spanish, Mandarin and French", and that "Arabic’s importance was determined by analysing job adverts, export markets and language on the internet to determine the most important languages of the future". The author also reports that researchers had discovered that "the proportion of companies citing Arabic, Mandarin and Spanish as useful for applicants had risen, while fewer demand French and German", and that "job adverts asking for proficiency in Arabic, Mandarin and Japanese have also overtaken demand for the previously popular Russian and Portuguese over the past five years". However, compared to efforts by the UK government to expand learning opportunities for Mandarin, Arabic had received "relatively little attention" and this was due in no small measure to problems with teacher recruitment.

In the article, Staufenberg writes that ​"The Qatar Foundation International, which promotes global Arabic education, has already pledged £400,000 in funding for Arabic teaching in the UK, and has instituted a foundation teacher training course at Goldsmiths University". Whilst this was a very positive step, the author highlights the need for an increase in funding at government level to allow more school children to learn Arabic, in line with the money already set-aside for other major global languages. Staufenberg quotes Geoff Barton, the general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, who argues that in the past, policymakers had been “slow to realise where the influential languages are”.

​Today, just as back in 2017 when the article was published, the data is very clear with regards to the gaps in the provision and funding of Arabic language teaching in UK schools. Just as clear however, is the immense opportunity for all stakeholders, from schools and pupils, to private business, charities and related international bodies. According to Staufenberg, ​"Arabic became a GCSE subject in 1995, with 1,182 entries. By 2016, this number had nearly quadrupled to 4,211. The A-level was introduced in 2002, with 299 entries. Last year, entry had increased to around 700".