This year, the number of freshmen enrolled at the General Jonas Žemaitis Military Academy in Lithuania has dropped by a third, compared to last year. Both bad exam results and war in Ukraine might be responsible, according to experts.
The Lithuanian Defence Ministry’s target is 100-110 freshmen at the Military Academy each year. While last year’s figures exceeded expectations, this year, only 84 young people chose to study at the academy.
“In four years, such a number of new officers will be joining the armed forces. This number is probably not enough, especially when we talk about the need to grow the Lithuanian Armed Forces,” said Darius Antanaitis, a military expert.
The Defence Ministry believes that school exams were the main reason that prevented a number of young people from enrolling at the Military Academy. This year, 35 percent of school leavers failed the math exam.
“Around 300 young people applied to study [at the Military Academy], but the majority of those who did not sign the contract this year did not do so because they failed one of the state exams,” said Žilvinas Tomkus, Deputy Defence Minister.
The Military Academy believes that the war in Ukraine may have influenced the decision of some of the candidates, as well.
“If people see the military profession as nice uniforms and marching under the flags, there is no doubt that this contingent is turning away when reality comes to light,” said Major Donatas Suchockis, the head of the Military Academy’s Outreach Department.
In his words, however, working in the military usually does not lead to higher risks.
“It should not be considered that the military profession is somehow exceptionally more dangerous. On the contrary, they know better what to do in case of a crisis,” Suchockis said.
The freshmen, who are in their second week of basic training, say that the geopolitical situation has not discouraged them from military studies.
“I had already set this goal three years ago that I wanted to be a cadet. Russia’s war in Ukraine has not changed my mind,” said cadet Nojus Kareniauskas.
“I realised when those events started that I wanted to be in this place,” another cadet, Simona Petrauskaitė, added.
According to the military expert Antanaitis, reasons other than the war in Ukraine have influenced a drop in the number of freshmen at the Military Academy.
“In my opinion, there are two reasons. The first reason is that we live comfortably, and the second reason is that too little money is spent on promoting the military profession,” he said.
Although there are fewer cadets in training, the academy says they are more motivated.
“The tendency is that within the first week, some of the freshmen decide that they are not in the right place. From the end of August until today, there has not been a single dropout, which suggests a strong motivation,” Suchockis said.
A maximum of 440 cadets could attend the four courses of the Military Academy. More than 300 are currently enrolled. Only state-funded places are available at the institution.
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