About 39% of college students in Indonesia have been exposed to radical groups, a survey conducted by the Indonesian State Intelligence Agency discovered.
The Indonesian State Intelligence Agency said its latest study confirmed the rise of conservative religious ideology and showed that radical groups had targeted universities, The Straits Times reported.
The survey was conducted at a campus event in Semarang in Central Java attended by more than 270 student leaders. Budi Gunawan, the head of the Indonesian State Intelligence Agency, said the threat of radicalism among students was high.
“This reaffirms that the campus environment has become the target of radical groups trying to mobilize new terrorist candidates,” Gunawan said.
Gunawan added that the intelligence agency was closely monitoring three universities thought to be at risk of becoming bases for radicals. He said students should not be used by radical groups to destroy Indonesia’s social structure.