Colonel, PhD S.A. Trapeznikov
Professor, Dr.Hab., Honoured Worker of Physical Culture of the Russian Federation, Honorary Worker of Higher Education of Russia
G.A. Shashkin
Senior Lieutenant, researcher S.A. Malashenko
Professor, Dr.Hab. N.V. Romanenko
Military Institute of Physical Culture, St. Petersburg

Keywords: physical training, general education establishments, pre-university educational establishments under control of Ministry of Defence, recruits, national security.

Introduction. In view of the fact that the graduates’ physical fitness test levels are found to vary in a wide range being not always high enough for the modern military education and combat missions in the period of their active service in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, top priority will be given to the initiatives to assess the present situation of the public educational establishments in this context and find new methods to develop and train healthy, physically fit and very hard-working graduates.

Objective of the study was to analyze the policies and practices of the existing physical education system and to assess the actual physical/ sport fitness levels of the Russian public education system graduates.

Study results and discussion. As provided by the relevant regulatory document of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) of the Russian Federation, “the military service personnel shall meet the valid physical fitness standards to be duly fit for the combat and other missions as required by the relevant service regulations” [3]. Having analyzed the physical exercise execution standards applied to test and rate the physical fitness of the public education system graduates versus that of the recruits coming to the military units, we highlighted a few obvious contradictions in these standards (see Table 1 hereunder).

Table 1. Physical education standards for the 11^th grade school seniors (SS) versus that for the 1^st year military service personnel (MSP)

Table 2. Physical fitness test rates of the conscripts

As one can see from Table 2 above, only 42.1% of the recruits were rated positively by the physical fitness tests; as many as 55.5 % were tested as poorly fit; and 1.85% were excused from the tests due to the health conditions. Furthermore, a sport rank analysis found that 87.52% of the recruits had not been formally qualified by sport classes/ ranks in the test period of 2013 through 2015 (see Table 3 hereunder).

Table 3. Formal sport ranks of the recruits

Analysis of the school sport statistics and reports with account of the graduates engaged in sports albeit formally non-qualified – confirmed that 69.38% of the tested school seniors were not engaged in whatever sports.

To counter this negative trend, the Ministry of Defence has been taking steps to develop the existing pre-university education system under control of the Ministry, including the Suvorov’s Military Colleges, Presidents’ Military Schools and Cadets’ Academies. The analytical data given in Table 4 hereunder givereasons to believe that the physical fitness levels of the graduates of the pre-university education system under control of the Ministry of Defence meet the national standards.

Table 4. Physical fitness test rates of the graduates of the pre-university education system under control of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation

Statistical analysis of the physical fitness test rates of the MoD-controlled pre-university education system graduates (1210 people in total) showed that 96.3% (1166 people) were tested positively and only 3.6% (44 people) were poorly rated by the tests. In the year of 2014, only 5 graduates (1.2%) were excused from the tests due to health issues, and no one was rated with this category in 2015.

The MoD-controlled pre-university education system graduates’ sport fitness analysis showed that 472 graduates (39.1%) were formally qualified with sport classes/ ranks as compared to 50.6% of the general school graduates who were reported non-engaged in whatever systemic sports, as of the last two years (see Table 5).

Table 5. Formal sport ranks of the MoD-controlled pre-university education system graduates

Conclusion. The study data and analysis are indicative of the insufficient physical/ sport fitness levels of the Russian general education system graduates in the context of the valid national defence standards, and the fitness levels are still on the fall as verified by the negative trends reported.

The valid public education system standards require the health standards of the pupils in the education period to be improved, key physical qualities and abilities to be duly developed and high physical fitness levels to be achieved. However, as verified by the study data and analysis, the existing general education system attains none of these statutory objectives in fact. Due initiatives need to be taken to secure high physical fitness levels of the general school graduates – since the poor fitness standards shall no more be viewed as an internal school and/or general education system problem, but rather a national-level problem of direct impact on the national economy, security and defence. 

References

1. Vesenniy prizyv-2013 (Spring call-up 2013) [electronic resource] // URL: http://ria.ru/trend/callup_spring_30032013/ (date of access 17.05.2014).
2. Ezhegodny monitoring fizicheskoy podgotovlennosti voennosluzhashchikh, prizvannykh na voennuyu sluzhbu; kandidatov, postupayushchikh v voenno-uchebnyie zavedeniya, vypusknikov voenno-uchebnykh zavedeniy i dovuzovskikh obrazovatel'nykh uchrezhdeniy Ministerstva oborony Rossiyskoy Federatsii: etapny otchet o NIR: Shifr «Molodoe popolnenie» (Annual physical fitness monitoring of soldiers called up for military service; applicants entering military schools, graduates of military schools and pre-university educational institutions of the Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation: landmark report on research: Code "Young recruits") / Head B.V. Endal'tsev; ex.: S.A. Malashenko, O.B. Ektova, A.M. Androsov, E.B. Portsevskaya. – St. Petersburg: VIFK VMedA, 2014.
3. Nastavlenie po fizicheskoy podgotovke v Vooruzhennykh Silakh Rossiyskoy Federatsii (NFP-2009): pril. k prikazu Ministra oborony Ros. Federatsii 2009 g. № 200 s izm. v sootvetstvii s pril. k prikazu Ministra oboronyi Ros. Federatsii 2013 g. № 560 (Manual on physical training in the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation (NFP-2009): ap. to the order of Defence Minister of the Rus. Federation, 2009 № 200 amended in accordance with the appendix. to the order of Defence Minister of the Rus. Federation 2013 № 560 / [Ministry of Defence of the Rus. Federation]. - [Moscow, 2013]. – 199 p.: il.
4. Osenniy prizyv-2013 (Autumn call-up - 2013) [electronic resource] // URL: http://ria.ru/trend/army_autumn_30092013/ (date of access 17.05.2014).

Corresponding author: smalashenkos@mail.ru

Abstract

The study data and analysis are indicative of the insufficient physical fitness levels of the Russian general education system graduates in the context of the valid national defence standards, and the fitness levels are still on the fall as verified by the negative trends reported.

Due initiatives, in opinion of the authors, need to be taken to secure high physical fitness levels of the general school graduates to match with the physical fitness levels attained by the Ministry of Defence-controlled pre-university education system graduates.