NOVOSIBIRSK. Feb 3 (Interfax-AVN) - The Defense Ministry is not planning to open new military departments for the introduction of military service by conscription in Russia's universities on September 1, 2014, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov told reporters in Novosibirsk on Friday.
"We would like to begin our work in universities which have military departments. Moreover the current legislation in the new edition of the federal law 'On Education' enables military departments and not only military departments to provide educational services to other universities. We would like to begin working with the military departments that already exist," he said.
Pankov reiterated that the issue of creating new military departments is currently not on the agenda.
"We want to begin working on September 1, 2014. We don't have to create new structures, we should really begin working on the infrastructure that already exists. We should admit more people to military departments and begin training sergeants and privates in reserve in addition to officers in reserve," he said.
There are plans that the nine months of training in a military department will be counted as nine months of military service and such students will have three-month camp training sessions. Such university graduates will receive military tickets when they graduate.
In December 2013, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu suggested that university students should be allowed to serve in the army in the military departments of their universities.