Prevention of religious extremism and terrorism in secondary education organizations

On April 19, 2024, Örken East Kazakhstan Regional Scientific and Methodological Center for Informatization and Education Development of Education Administration of East Kazakhstan region held a regional seminar on the topic “Prevention of religious extremism and terrorism in secondary education organizations” with the participation of speakers: a psychologist of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Honorary Professor of the Academy of Law Enforcement Agencies under the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Republic of Kazakhstan Lola S. Shakimova, expert Serikbol A. Bilalov and a theologian from Research Center for Religious Issues of East Kazakhstan region of Religious Issues Administration of East Kazakhstan region Bekzhan Zh. Kasymzhanov.

The seminar was attended by more than 700 deputy headmasters responsible for educational affairs, classroom teachers, educational psychologists, social educators of schools and organizations of additional education of the region. The following recommendations were made based on the results of the seminar:  

− in order to ensure the full socialization of children, it is necessary to significantly improve the quality of educational work in educational organizations, to implement systematic measures to combat religious extremism and terrorism, and protect children from violence, recruitment and exploitation by extremist and terrorist groups;

− prevention of religious extremism and terrorism among minors should be carried out simultaneously with its prevention among adults, as children often repeat the experience of their parents, older peers, and social environment;

− it is essential to teach young people to information literacy skills, including the ability to verify the fidelity of information on the Internet, recognize fake news and propaganda materials.