Britain to ask its college staff to spy on 'Asian-looking' student

London, Oct 16 (UNI) University staff across Britain will be asked to spy on ''Asian-looking'' and Muslim students, they suspect of involvement in Islamic extremism and supporting terrorist violence, media reports said.

A report in The Guardian claims university staff will be told to inform a special branch about such students because the government believes campuses have become ''fertile recruiting grounds'' for extremists.

The 18-page document drawn up by the Department for Education has proposals which will be sent to universities and other centres of higher education before the end of the year. The document claims that universities will be anxious about passing information to special branch, for fear it amounts to ''collaborating with the secret police''. It says there will be ''concerns about police targeting certain sections of the student population (Muslims)''.

Wakkas Khan, president of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, said, ''It sounds to me to be potentially the widest infringement of the rights of Muslim students that there ever has been in this country. It is clearly targeting Muslim students to a higher level of suspicion and scrutiny. It sounds like you're guilty until you're proven innocent.'' Gemma Tumelty, president of the National Union of Students, said, ''They are going to treat every Muslim with suspicion on the basis of their faith. It's bearing on the side of McCarthyism.'' The document, which has been obtained by the Guardian, claims that Islamic societies at universities have become increasingly political in recent years and discusses monitoring their leaflets and speakers. The document warns of talent-spotting by terrorists on campuses and of students being ''groomed'' for extremism.

The document also identifies Muslims from ''segregated'' backgrounds as more likely to hold radical views than those who have ''integrated into wider society''. It also claims that students who study in their home towns could act as a link between extremism on campuses and in their local communities.

MORE UNI XC PR BD1802