Britain unveiled plans on Wednesday to clamp down on extremism among schoolchildren, including far-right nationalism, racism and Islamist fundamentalism.

The government, which has grappled with how to bolster security after the 2005 suicide bombings and foiled attacks last year in London and Glasgow, defended itself against critics who said it would turn teachers into snoops.

"Violent extremism influenced by al-Qaeda currently poses the greatest security threat," said schools minister Ed Balls, confirming four million pounds in funding for the project.

"But other forms of extremism and hate- or race-based prejudice are also affecting our communities and causing alienation and disaffection amongst young people," he added.

A toolkit will be provided for every school in Britain with a DVD to prompt classroom discussions, along with a booklet with guidance for teachers, with topics focusing on bullying, racism, and terrorism.

"We need to address the underlying issues that can drive people into the hands of violent, extremist groups and encourage local communities to come together to expose the flaws in extremists' arguments," said Balls.

According to the toolkit, schools had expressed concerns regarding students bringing far-right literature into the classroom and a primary school pupil mentioning the "7/7 martyrs" in the playground, referring to the suicide bombers who killed 56 people on London's transport network on 7 July 2005.

Balls said, however, that despite those extreme examples, the plan was intended to spark discussion, and not snoop on students.

"This is not about asking teachers to be monitors and to be doing surveillance, that's not their job. But if something concerns them, we want them to know who to turn to for help," he said.

But Mary Bousted, head of the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, criticised the move.

"We have a duty of care to try to prevent young people descending into illegal activities which could ruin their lives," she said. "But teachers are not trained to deal with radicalisation.

"We are not spy catchers," she said.

AFP