The Young Guard Center will hold a meeting at the Latvian National Defense Academy on Thursday to inform representatives of Latvian educational institutions about the implementation of the national defense training (VAM) from 2024/2025. of the school year.
Defense Minister Andris Spruds (JV) will open the meeting with an address to those present.
The purpose of the meeting is to discuss the implementation of VAM with representatives of Latvian educational institutions. Experience in the implementation and realization of the subject will be shared by four educational institutions – Riga 66th Secondary School, Riga 93rd Secondary School, Sigulda State Gymnasium and Saldus Technical School.
It is expected that representatives from 70 secondary education institutions will participate in the meeting. At the meeting, both those educational institutions that VAM already implements, as well as those that VAM will introduce from the next school year, will be represented.
It has already been reported that VAM was introduced in 2018 as a pilot project in 13 Latvian educational institutions. 2023/2024 in the school year, VAM is taught as an optional subject in 182 Latvian educational institutions, where more than 15 thousand students from all over Latvia study it.
VAM is implemented as a compulsory subject in general education and vocational secondary education institutions within the framework of two academic years. VAM learners have the opportunity to voluntarily participate in VAM camps.
The aim of VAM is to promote civic awareness and patriotism, as well as to provide an opportunity to learn basic military skills and abilities, creating citizens who are civically responsible and loyal to Latvia, which are vital in the context of comprehensive national defense.
On December 3, 2020, the Saeima adopted the VAM and Young Guard Law, which stipulates that from September 1, 2024, learning the subject of VAM in secondary education programs will be mandatory.
Young Guard. Photo: Toms Koklītis/LETA
Tags: meeting held implementation national defense exercise mandatory September
