Indonesia may fingerprint Islamic pupils

JAKARTA, Dec. 5 (UPI) -- Indonesian Vice-President Jusuf Kalla is calling for the fingerprinting of 3.5 million Islamic boarding school students.

The move has sparked outrage across the archipelago, the Australian reported Monday.

There are about 15,000 Islamic boarding schools across Indonesia. They have been on the defensive since the second Bali bombings in October, with the Indonesian Government taking steps to crack down on the schools.

The International Crisis Group says more than 30 accused and convicted militants attended the Ngruki Islamic boarding school in Central Java, founded by convicted extremist preacher Abu Bakar Bashir.

Kalla's steps to contain militant schools have been closely watched in Indonesia, the fourth-most populous Islamic nation in the world, the newspaper said.