MOSCOW. July 1 (Interfax-AVN) - Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said that by 2009, only 30-35 civilian colleges will be offering military training.
"Today, civilian colleges and universities have 229 military training departments, which are training 170,000 potential reserve officers," Ivanov told a meeting of the Armed Forces command in Moscow on Friday.
Civilian colleges train 52,000 army officers annually, but only 6,000 of them are actually called up for two-year terms of military service.
"What is the state spending taxpayers' money on?" Ivanov asked.
In the future, "students who have already enrolled will be allowed to complete their studies, and by approximately 2008-09, the remaining military training departments will be closed," he said.
"The decision has been thoroughly planned by the General Staff and approved by the Security Council," he said.