In Datu Unsay, teachers turn into grade school students during Ramadhan

By Ferdinandh B. Cabrera

DATU UNSAY, Maguindanao— Teachers of a public school here are mentors early in the day, students in the afternoon.

For a month now, teachers of Datu Unsay Elementary School (DUES) in Datu Unsay, Maguindanao, have been both teachers and students because they study Arabic after teaching hours.

Islamic teacher Sarah Zailon has been spending time educating her co-teachers on Arabic and in the correct pronunciation of verses of the Qur’an during the fasting month.

This has been the daily task of DUES teachers since June 16 when the fasting month started.  It is expected to end on July 16, the feast of “Eud’l Fitr.”

“We used to stand before our students  in school.  After regular classes, our teachers take their seats as Arabic students,” Zailon said, adding that the class in Arabic focuses on the alphabet and on correct pronunciation.

While almost 100 percent of the pupils are Muslims, some teachers are non-Muslims and they too study Arabic under Ustadza Zailon’s class.

“It is important for teachers to teach students the correct pronunciation of Qur’an verses, we cannot teach what we cannot pronounce correctly,” Zailon said.

She admitted that even Muslim teachers have difficulty in the correct pronunciation of verses in Arabic so there’s a need for the special class. Arabic is used in Islamic prayers.

“I want my co-teachers to learn the correct way and correct pronunciation of verses in the Qur’an so I am taking this extra work, free of charge, for my co-teachers,” she said. She spends an hour or two as an Arabic teacher.

Rakma Saway, a teacher of DUES and Zailon’s student, lauded the efforts of her co-teacher. In return, she has been trying her best to learn the language.

“Mam Zailon’s extra efforts for us teachers are of great help for us, we consider this a blessing,” Saway said, admitting that she lacks enough knowledge in Arabic reading and understanding.

Zailon said she intends to continue teaching Arabic to her co-teachers even after the fasting month as her way of serving God.