This year students will besides have the chance to gain valuable safety and defence skills and knowledge. The second edition of the "Education with the Army" programme, jointly implemented by the Ministry of Education and Defence, was launched. The students' meetings with mission veterans outside the country will be new.
"Education with the Army" is simply a defensive education program, prepared and implemented jointly by ministries: national education and national defence. His first edition began on May 6, that year. During lessons with military instructors, students of more than 3,000 primary and secondary schools learned, among others, the principles of emergency management, learned alarm signals and perpetuated first aid techniques.
– The program met its objectives, as thousands of students gained valuable skills and cognition in the field of safety and defence. Having a affirmative feedback from the Ministry of National Education, Local Governments and, above all, schools participating in the first edition, we decided to proceed joint actions for defence education, says Colonel Tomasz Gergelewicz of the Operations Centre of the Ministry of National Defence, didactics and author of the program's classes.
The letter of intent on launching the second edition of the task was signed by ministers of national education and defence: Barbara Nowacka and Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz. The main nonsubjective of the task is to rise awareness of children and young people in the area of safety and defence, and to make among them simple habits and skills in the field of defence and civilian protection and behaviour in crisis situations.
As in the first edition, the programme is addressed to pupils in grades 1–7 of primary schools and grades 2–4 of secondary institutions (the eighth and first secondary schools have a program of safety education). Students are waiting for 3 hours of military theoretical and applicable training. The theoretical block will cover issues specified as rescue, alerting and opposition to disinformation. During the practice, students will practice evacuation, calling for aid and the basis of cardiovascular respiration. All these classes will be conducted by method-trained soldiers-instructors from military units.
– The unit will be able to choice a soldier who has already participated in the first edition of the program and is prepared to conduct classes with young people. But nothing stands in the way of fresh people willing to share their knowledge. In this case, of course we will prepare them to teach lessons – said Colonel Gergelewicz.
The second edition will include meetings with mission veterans, co-organised by the Centre for the Veterans of Activities outside the State Borders. They will only be held in secondary schools that study specified a willingness. – Veterans will talk about global cooperation, representing the state abroad, participation in military missions. In this way we want to show young people that the military service can be very diverse and interesting – Colonel Gergelewicz admits.
Schools curious in participating in the programme may submit themselves by 4 October. School classes will start on October 21, 2024 and last until December 13, 2024. More information about the task can be found on the program website.
