Security News > 2021 > April > Australia proposes teaching cyber-security to five-year-old kids
Australia has decided that six-year-old children need education on cyber-security, even as it removes other material from the national curriculum.
A newly revised draft of the national curriculum for children aged five to sixteen, launched yesterday, added a new strand titled "Considering privacy and security" that "Involves students developing appropriate techniques for managing data, which is personal, and effectively implementing security protocols."
The proposed curriculum aims to teach five-year-old children - an age at which Australian kids first attend school - not to share information such as date of birth or full names with strangers, and that they should consult parents or guardians before entering personal information online.
The new curriculum retains Australia's 2015 decision to spread digital technologies across other subjects, a decision made reached despite early drafts calling for classes dedicated to coding.
The new draft curriculum has removed around 20 percent of material, a response to allegations the current curriculum is "Crowded".
Australia's national curriculum is developed by its Federal Government, which does not operate any schools.