Boys As Young As Five At Risk Of Becoming Radicalised Extremists

Boys as young as five years old are being at risk of becoming radicalised extremists or criminals as one Sydney school has been found to have ten problem students.

The Department of Education has revealed that it hopes to combat ‘anti-social and extremist behaviour’ in schools in New South Wales as it was found that ten boys in a primary school in Sydney’s inner west have been identified as ‘at risk’ and have been put into a special program, The Daily Telegraph reported.

Psychologist and school counsellor Rose Cantali said that there is a rise in the number of disturbed children, making them disengaged from learning. She said that this increases the risk of these children to become criminals or terrorists and become involved in radicalisation and other criminal activity when they are older.

She said during her time as a counsellor she encountered a Muslim mother who ended up rearing three extremists. “The mother had needed to have many dealings with the counsellor due to her children’s learning needs and poor behaviour at school,” she told The Daily Telegraph.

Ms Cantali said that three of the mum’s boys ended up becoming terrorists — one jailed currently and the other two jailed in other countries.

Psychologist and researcher at Macquarie University Wayne Warburton, who specialises in aggressive behaviour, told the newspaper that many teenagers are feeling ‘anxious, sad or suicidal’. “[Changed behaviour] must start with children who are young and it must be scaffolded in schools and the curriculum,” Dr Warburton said.

A Department of Education spokesperson said that ‘robust systems’ are in place in the state’s schools to identify students who may be easily influenced to engage in crime or extremist behaviour.

Source: Dailymail.co.uk and 7 News Facebook