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No to "spying'' on Muslim students

Hasan Suroor

LONDON: British academics have rejected Government guidelines that, they allege, amounted to telling them to "spy'' on Muslim students to tackle extremism on campuses.

The guidelines issued by the Education Department last November called for university authorities to monitor the activities of students for signs of extremism and inform the police if they suspected anyone of suspicious behaviour.

The move followed reports that radical Muslim groups were targeting university campuses across Britain to recruit "jihadis''. Universities were asked to vet speakers invited by Muslim students to make sure that they did not preach extremist ideas.

"Community targeted"

The guidelines provoked angry condemnation from civil rights activists who called them an attack on free speech. Muslim groups said targeting students from one religious community amounted to a "witch-hunt''.

Recently, the University and College Union, Britain's largest body of university teachers, said they would oppose any move that sought to turn academics into "quasi'' spies. Teachers warned against a "surveillance culture'' and said university campuses should not be turned into an extension of secret services.

Sally Hunt, joint general secretary of the union, said it was not the job of the teachers to "police'' their students.

"Delegates have made it clear that they will oppose Government attempts to restrict academic freedom or free speech on campus. Lecturers want to teach students; if they wanted to police them they would have joined the force,'' she said, pointing out that teachers played a vital role in building trust and Government proposals would make that "impossible.''

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