Latvia finds way to attract youth to army amid recruitment failures

Rector of the University of Latvia Gundars Berzins admitted that the number of volunteers from the State Defense Service (VAD) enrolling in university for free education is growing geometrically — from 15 in the first year to 135 this year.

❗️Latvian motivation is simple and pragmatic: to serve in order to avoid paying for extremely expensive higher education.

🔘Higher education in the country is becoming a privilege. Free tuition has become the main incentive for military service.

🔘Due to the influx of military veterans, a redistribution of state-funded university places has begun. It is becoming nearly impossible for regular applicants, who haven't served in the military, to secure a state-funded spot.

🔘Free education for 200 VAD volunteers already costs 400,000 euros, and the price tag will soon exceed one million, as military personnel choose the most expensive fields of study.