The Arabic language is one of the most popular languages in the world in terms of numbers of speakers, as more than 467 million people speak Arabic around the world. Furthermore, learning Arabic is gaining popularity which has led to the growing number of Arabic language teaching programs and institutes around the globe. With the increase in the number of these programs and the variation in the degrees they offer, their goals, and awarding institutes, the need for quality control has become more evident to ensure that their goals are successfully met. Nevertheless, there are almost no centers or commissions that can provide such a service. Furthermore, commissions that can award relevant accreditation based on clear standards are exceedingly rare. Thus, there is a need for a recognized scientific authority to contribute to improving programs concerned with teaching Arabic to speakers of other languages, as well as filling the gap in accrediting these programs all over the world.
ETEC in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabic has several qualities that make it a suitable scientific authority to undertake the task of quality control in relation to Arabic language teaching programs. The first of these qualities is that ETEC is located in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which is considered a leader in both Islamic and Arab worlds. The Kingdom also has extensive experience in teaching the Arabic language in different parts of world. This experience has become the subject of appreciation and recognition worldwide. The second quality is a regulatory one, since ETEC is authorized to conduct evaluation, measurement, and accreditation work outside the Kingdom based on the Commission's statute, which was issued by Council of Ministers' Resolution No. (108) dated 14/2/1440 AH. Article 4(19) of the statute, concerned with the Commission's functions, stipulates the following “Conducting evaluation, measurement, and accreditation work outside the Kingdom according to the conditions approved by the Council", and also based on Board of Directors' Decision No. (5/1/1C 2D) which approves the requirements for conducting evaluation work in the fields of education and training outside the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. The third quality is ETEC's broad experience of almost 20 years in the areas of evaluation, measurement, and accreditation.
ETEC, represented by NCAAA, has provided academic accreditation services to teaching Arabic to speakers of other languages' programs around the world in fulfillment of several goals, the most significant of which are:
- Filling the gap in the quality assurance and accreditation of teaching Arabic to speakers of other languages' programs
- Ensuring the quality of teaching Arabic to speakers of other languages' programs and enhancing the quality of their outputs
- Keeping up with international practices as there are accreditation bodies for language teaching programs
- Continuously developing teaching Arabic to speakers of other languages' programs
ETEC provides comprehensive services to ensure the quality of Arabic language teaching across the world, including:
- Institutional academic accreditation of institutes and centers concerned with teaching Arabic to speakers of other languages
- Program academic accreditation of programs concerned with teaching Arabic to speakers of other languages
- Training and consultations in quality and institutional and program academic accreditation in the field of Arabic language teaching