Polish ministry to support military training of university students
Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz and Science and Higher Education Minister Marcin Kulasek have signed a new agreement on voluntary military training for university students who want to join the Polish Armed Forces.
The document, signed on Friday, provides for the defence ministry to assist in theoretical and practical military training of the country's university students, under the Academic Legion programme.
Since its inception in 2017, 22,000 students have completed the Academic Legion course, becoming junior officers and officers of the Polish Armed Forces.
"The Academic Legion is a project targeting students who want to deepen their [academic] knowledge... on the one hand, and wish to serve their homeland, want to be soldiers of the Polish Armed Forces," Kosiniak-Kamysz said at the event.
According to the minister, students who enrol with the programme undergo 28-day basic military drills, followed by specialist training for junior officers, spread over a maximum of three years.
"One must not, and should not, interrupt their professional or educational path (to conduct military training - PAP), they can be combined," Kosiniak-Kamysz said.
Kulasek added that the agreement brought more predictability, stability and quality to military training in academic environments across the country. (PAP)
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