In the mid-1980s, when the people of China were pushing forward the reform, opening-up and modernization with unprecedented enthusiasm, the "green train" of military training for students in colleges and universities in China was restarted. As one of the practices running through the reform and opening-up, military training for students came into being in the process of reform, and it is also full of reforms. In the past 33 years, it has explored and formed an effective working system.
In the pilot project, the number of colleges and universities participating is increasing year by year.
In January 1985, in Beijing, the capital, six ministries and commissions jointly issued a notice, and in September of that year, military training will be piloted in some colleges and high schools across the country. In that year, the first batch of pilot schools selected by various localities were mostly national and regional key institutions with basic conditions for military training, and famous schools such as Tsinghua University, Peking University and Fudan University were all on the list.
At that time, organizing students’ military training was an important part of the joint construction of the army and the people. The training units regarded training as a political task and selected officers and men with good military quality and strong command ability to enrich the ranks of instructors. In 1985, 82 outstanding officers and men from Beijing Garrison were sent to Tsinghua for a 20-day military training for freshmen. In military training, young students and military groups have had close contact, and the good tradition and style of the PLA began to enter the campus.
All provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions attach great importance to students’ military training and have set up military training leading groups. Taking Shenzhen as an example, the leaders of the party and government organs in this city deeply feel that military training for college students can not only strengthen students’ national defense concept, but also cultivate high-quality talents for Shenzhen. To this end, the municipal government allocates special funds for military training for Shenzhen University every year, and gives preferential policies.
In 1985, there were 52 military training pilot colleges and universities; In 1986, there were 69 pilot universities; In 1987, there were 105 pilot universities; In 1989, there were 143 pilot universities … On the basis of summing up experience, more and more universities were included in the pilot.
The reason why students’ military training quickly entered the campus and continued to heat up is the call of the times and the historical necessity. In 1985, our army was disarmed by 1 million. Reducing the number of standing soldiers is a strategic decision made by the party and the state according to the domestic and international situation, and it is also a practical action for the army to obey the overall situation of national economic construction. Under this background, it is of more prominent significance to strengthen the construction of reserve forces. Military training for students is undoubtedly an important way to national defense education and reserve troops.
Popularize and fully incorporate into the teaching plan of colleges and universities
In November 2001, a national conference on military training for students was held. The meeting pointed out: "The military and local leaders at all levels should fully understand the great significance of carrying out military training for students from the perspective of the overall strategic situation and the development of the times, and regard it as a major event that benefits the country and strengthens the army." This meeting marks that the military training of Chinese students has officially entered the stage of popularization and development from the pilot.
If we say that the military training of students in 1980s and 1990s was only "taken as a phased work", then the promulgation of "Military Course Syllabus of Ordinary Colleges and Universities" in June 2002 meant that the military training of students was formally "incorporated into the teaching system" and "built as a course". This syllabus stipulates: "military courses will be included in the teaching plan of colleges and universities, and the examination results will be recorded in the student files."
As an important work to strengthen the construction of national defense reserve forces, students’ military training has brought gratifying changes to school construction and students’ thoughts in years of practice.
Huo Qiang, a teacher at Bengbu Medical College, said: "After the students came back from military training, the dormitory was neat, the class was punctual, and the organizational discipline was greatly improved." Yu Xinyi, a freshman in guangxi university of chinese medicine, said: "Instructors set an example for me with their good looks. They can do the training courses, and I have to complete them with high standards!" At the presentation ceremony, parents applauded for a long time when they saw the students wearing green military uniforms with standard military posture and full spirit. Colleges and universities organize teaching quality surveys, and students who have undergone military training almost invariably scored "Excellent" in the column of "Military Training Course".
Gradually, more and more leaders of large and medium-sized schools take the initiative to ask for expanding the scale and time of military training. The number of young students who want to join the army and apply for military schools has increased significantly, and more and more college students volunteer to make contributions to the places where the motherland needs them most. In 2016, Zhang Liandong, a student from beijing university of chemical technology, took the initiative to serve in the border defense forces in the northwest. In the video sent to his classmates, Zhang Liandong hit the floor said: "I am at the border, please rest assured the motherland!"
In the past 33 years, military training for students has developed from 52 colleges and 102 high schools in 1985 to more than 2,000 colleges and 22,000 high schools in China, with an encouraging speed. Some foreign media said: "Such a magnificent social project and such a great achievement is a miracle."
The system of norms, laws and regulations is improving day by day
The development of new things is never smooth. From pilot to popularization, while the military training for students in China has gained room for further development, problems such as shortage of instructors, single military training course and commercial training have gradually emerged.
"Students’ military training is meticulous and complicated. Taking the data of 2018 as an example, the number of military training has reached more than 20 million, and the number of people is beyond imagination. Under this circumstance, only by adhering to the standardization construction can we adapt to the new challenges brought about by the new situation, new tasks and new changes. " The staff of the Military Training Office of the whole army told the reporter that in the new century, especially since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the standardization of military training for students has been continuously promoted: in 2014, the Notice on Further Strengthening the Education and Management of the Officers and Men Trained by Students in Military Training put forward clear requirements for the selection, assessment, supervision and management of the trainees; In 2017, the Opinions on Deepening the Reform of Students’ Military Training proposed to strengthen the system construction of students’ military training, such as organization and leadership, training and teaching, teaching staff, training capacity and quality monitoring; In 2018, the national reform of deepening students’ military training was launched in an all-round way, and it was clearly stated that social forces were not allowed to undertake training, market-oriented operation and commercial training.
In the practice of exploring the standardized construction of students’ military training, the military and the local authorities have explored many effective and good methods.
-In Beijing, the way of base-based training with the functions of "training, learning, eating, living and ensuring" is getting wider and wider. Since the first military training base for students in China was built in 1990, 11 military training bases have been put into use in Beijing, with an annual training capacity of more than 300,000 people.
-In Guangdong, colleges and universities have launched integration of defense and civilian technologies training pilot projects in clinical medicine, communication engineering and other majors to train professionals for national defense and army building.
-In Guizhou, many universities have added anti-air raid and anti-biochemical courses to military training to enhance students’ actual combat experience.
-In Guangxi, the military and civilian areas have moved away from peak-to-peak military training, and training in stages and batches has greatly eased the pressure on the garrison troops to undertake training.
-In Fujian, Jiangsu, Anhui and other places, the military actively selects outstanding reserve officers and soldiers, militia backbones and retired soldiers to participate in military training, and all personnel are certified after passing the examination.
Students’ military training is related to the cultivation of teenagers’ comprehensive quality and the future of national defense construction. In the past 33 years, Chinese students’ military training has been seeking breakthroughs and innovations in the reform, and has increasingly moved towards a scientific, standardized and legal development path, which has received good political and social benefits, strengthened the cause of military development and trained a large number of high-quality talents.