An inter-school pre-conscription training center has opened in Novolukoml, and three more will appear in the Vitebsk region by the end of the year
Work on the creation of the center began last year. The school shooting range was renovated (with the help of the local DOSAAF organizational structure), where not only schoolchildren learn marksmanship, but also competitions in pneumatic weapons shooting of city and district scale are held. Training classrooms have been prepared. The Ministry of Defense provided support to teachers in equipping them with the necessary equipment and materials, handing over weapon mock-ups, training aids, stands, topographic maps, etc. to the school. The implementation of this pilot project for the district was also facilitated by Igor Martynov, Deputy of the House of Representatives of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, the regional Council of Deputies, and the local authorities.
Starting from the current academic year, more than 300 students in grades 10-11 from nine schools in Chashniki district will begin their training at the center.
During pre-conscription training classes, young men will learn the basics of future army service: they will study general military regulations, understand ranks, learn about types of weapons, practice marching, and so on.
Girls will learn the basics of first aid. The classes will be conducted by previously trained teachers. Meetings with servicemen of the Armed Forces of the Republic of Belarus, veterans of the Great Patriotic War, and internationalist soldiers, as well as excursions to institutions of the Ministry of Defense, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the Ministry of Emergency Situations are also planned.
The Novolukoml pre-conscription training center has become the fifth in the region; similar centers already exist in Polotsk, Novopolotsk, Glubokoye, and Lepel.
– Some centers have been operating in the region for about ten years. Experience shows that this is important and necessary.
Young people should understand that service is everyone's duty, and that they should not be afraid of the army.
Today, we want to raise true defenders of the Motherland, so that school graduates consciously choose to enter higher educational institutions of the Armed Forces, – emphasized the Chairman of the Regional Council of Deputies, Vladimir Terentyev.
Seven more such centers are planned to be opened in the region within two years; by the end of this year, one will appear in Orsha and two in Vitebsk.
– Together with the Novolukoml center, there are already 33 youth pre-conscription training centers operating in the republic today. The Ministry of Defense closely cooperates with the Ministry of Education; in addition to material and technical support, we provide assistance in training teaching staff. I must note that such training for the younger generation is important not only for future service in the Armed Forces but also in other силовых структурах (law enforcement agencies), – summarized the Deputy Minister of Defense of the Republic of Belarus, Sergei Potapenko.
The creation of pre-conscription training centers in the Vitebsk region is a clear result of the interaction between the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Education at the local level, the main goal of which is to raise modern boys and girls to be Belarusians with an active civic position, patriots of their country, future defenders of the Motherland, with a certain minimum of necessary knowledge and skills already acquired.