1. SGEM International Multidisciplinary Conferences on
SOCIAL SCIENCES AND ARTS
CZECH CIVILIAN UNI`S MAKE MILITARY UNIVERSITY REDUNDANT: LAST TRENDS AND DEVELOPMENT
Bohuslav Pernica, PhD. & prof. Jan Österreicher, PhD.
University of Pardubice & CEVRO Institute in Prague
Introduction
The end of Cold War has changed social paradigm in the East-Europe countries fundamentally, especially, the government have made a lot of public goods more accessible for public, e.g., tertiary education. That used to be rather selective due to fact that a principle of loyalty to ruling communist party used to be applied and universities were in the service of communist ideology indoctrination. For instance, only 10% of an age-group gained a degree in the Czech Republic in years later, more then 60% of an age-group goes to universities.
Free Entry to Uni`s
AVF 3E
Results
Because of multiplication of capacity for tertiary education almost threefold during the last 20 year, university studies got accessible for almost for everyone; hence it has lost scarcity. Furthermore, the number of officers (OF 1-OF 9) has been reduced to 5,000 and shift from conscription to All-Volunteer Force by the end of 2004 has changed the fundamental paradigm for need of military universities: if any recently graduated young officer from military college was always elder than any conscript, nowadays, any such officer is usually the youngest in his/her unit. His/her subordinates are not so educated but much more skilled and experienced soldiers.
Seniority is needed instead of scholarship and that opened a new option: young officers should be commissioned from the best warrant officers and Non-Commissioned Officers. The number of military men and women who serve as over-educated for their rank is increasing (see table 3). Due to fact that the Czech Republic spent on University of Defense almost 1,000 M CZK per year and need of freshly graduated young officers is about 100 per year, a recruiting of officers from senior NCOs can be considered as very cost effective.
Table 1: Total number of officers in the former Czechoslovak and Czech Armed Forces with percentage of graduated personnel
OF 1-OF 9
Graduated (%)
(AVG)
47,000 30
(AVG)
40,000 40
(AVG)
38,000 60
(AVG)
32,000 70
(AVG)
11,600 80
2005
7,054 95
2014
5,316
100
Research
A significant part in the Czechoslovak, and later on Czech education system, indeed, played military universities and colleges with capacity of more the 2,000 graduates per year in 1980s. Although the military service does not enjoyed popularity, a great deal of citizens enrolled on military universities and colleges each year in order to enhance their chance for social lift. They strive to get officers due to fact that all officers have to had been graduated since 1950s (see table 1).
The relevance of military universities declined dramatically by the end of Cold War. There is only one military university in the Czech Republic in 2014 (see table 2) and there is an expectation that no military university will there be within the next 10 years.
Table 3: Increase of graduated OR-1–OR-9 soldiers in the Czech Armed Forces
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
ISCED 5A (bachelor degree)
253
232
235
247
303
371
549
ISCED 5A (master degree) 61 72 94 81 87
114
130
ISCED 6 (Ph.D. degree) 1
TOTAL
315
305
329
390
486
680
Including
OR 5-OR 9 (warrant officers)
277
267
281
284
316
379
499
OR 1-OR 4 (NCOs) 38 48 45 74
107
181
Table 2: Portfolio of tertiary education held by Ministry of Defence
Czechoslovakia
the Czech Republic
1992
1995
2004
2014
Military institute for physical education at Charles university (Praha)
Military academy of social sciences (Bratislava)
Military medical academy (Hradec Králové)
Military technical academy (Brno)
Military faculty for traffic engineering (Žilina)
Military aviation college (Košice)
Military technical college (Liptovský Mikuláš)
Military college of ground forces (Vyškov) x x1 x2 x3
University of Defence (1+2+3)
University of Defence
(1+2+3)
undergraduates (full-time study): 3,500
1,300
1,200
1,000
Notes:
By the end of 1992, as an academy or university used to be called facility providing academic education lasting 5 years at minimum; other facilities (colleges) provided academic education shorter than 5 years, at that time 4 years.
Since the start of University of Defence in 2004, military medical academy, military technical academy, and military college of ground forces have been transformed into faculties.
Conclusion
An augmentation of officer corps in traditional manner i.e. by their education on military universities and colleges seems rather costly an ineffective in time of austerity. NATO states of small-size running All-Volunteer Force such the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Hungary should abandon this. A much more effective option is promoting of young officers from the best warrant officers and NCOs who proved their quality during their service and who manage get a degree during their service term.
This option not only spares an significant amount of public money but minimizes fluctuation as well and extents time for additional amortization of genuine military training gained by NCOs and deeps human capital in the military.
Acknowledgements
This research was supported by the Czech Ministry of Interior VG Adaptation of the Security System of the Czech Republic to Changing Economic, Social, Demographic, and Geopolitical Realities awarded to Miloš Balabán.