KUALA NERANG: Schoolchildren should be made aware of the dangers of extremism so that they are not influenced by militant movements.

Education Minister Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said teachers must speak openly about the issue and help students understand the dangers that such movements would bring.

He said teachers should use their positions to help educate students about the dangers of extremist movements.

“We must avoid such movements (from turning our children) into ‘sleeper cells’, moving unnoticed among teachers and students. We cannot hide it any more.

“We must explain to students that extremist acts are wrong and against Islamic teachings,” he said after the Padang Terap district Teachers Day celebrations and Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house here yesterday.

Mahdzir said, even though the authorities had confirmed that there was no extremist movement among teachers and students, precautions must be taken to avoid such a thing from happening in the future.

He said the ministry took heed of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s advice for the ministry to use moderate approaches in all its programmes to curb extremist activities.

Mahdzir said the existing school curriculum needed to be improved.

“We need to think of ways to promote moderation in education and help students understand current issues.”

In Johor Baru, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Deputy Vice-Chancellor (student affairs and alumni) Datuk Dr Mohd Ismail Abd Aziz declared the university free of extremist ideology or followers of radical movements.

He said there was no evidence of extremism among its local and foreign students and lecturers.

“There is no such thing. We have over 3,000 foreign students from 70 countries, including the Middle East and Indonesia, and they are all post-graduate students. We monitor them,” Ismail said after the launch of a dialysis centre at UTM yesterday. -nst