Galina Golikova, a resident of St. Petersburg, accompanied her husband to the NWO in October 2022 - the man was called up for military service during mobilization. The couple has two schoolchildren, the daughter of the spouses at that time was preparing to move to the graduating class.

In the summer of 2023, Galina's eldest daughter entered the university - the girl decided long ago that she wanted to study at the St. Petersburg branch of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration. She managed to get into the university of her dreams according to the quota for the children of NWO participants.

In May 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree according to which children of participants in the special operation in Ukraine can enter higher educational institutions on a budgetary basis under a special quota of 10% of the total number of places.

In an interview with RT, Galina Golikova explained how enrollment in a university for children of NWO participants takes place - according to her, there is still a competition for this admission option.

"There is a competition, it's just a separate one - it is among the children of the NWO participants. There, in the same way, the points of the exam are taken into account, but within the quota. This is 10% of the total number of budget places, "the interlocutor of RT notes.

Galina added that the process of submitting documents was not easy - she and her daughter could not get a certificate of the required sample on the participation of the girl's father in the NWO for a long time. Previously, the family had already received a similar document in order to enjoy other benefits provided for the children of participants in the special operation: free meals at school and public transport.

However, in the case of admission to the university, it turned out that the usual certificate from the military registration and enlistment office was not enough to submit documents.

"Until the end of June, we lived in full confidence that we already have a certificate for admission to the university under the quota. But when the admission of documents to universities began, we were suddenly faced with the fact that the certificate in the form in which it was issued for other benefits was not accepted. It turned out that there is a certain recommended form, but where to get it was unknown, "says Galina.

The mother of the applicant said that she had asked the Ministry of Education and Science and the Ministry of Defense for clarification. The military registration and enlistment office at the place of residence of the family began to deal with the problem of the Golikovs, and the necessary certificate was obtained.

"Thank God, we did and everything ended well, although the process was not pleasant. My daughter is now studying at the Faculty of State and Municipal Administration at the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration - she dreamed about it. She is very active, has been a member of the youth council for five years and decided for herself a long time ago about choosing a profession," the girl's mother concluded.

Problems with obtaining benefits

Not everyone immediately managed to take advantage of preferential conditions for admission to universities for children of NWO participants. Lyubov R., a resident of Almetyevsk, whose husband went on a special operation in May 2023, told RT that she had not yet been able to receive any benefits and payments due to the families of servicemen participating in the NWO.

"Our dad serves in the NWO zone under a contract, but he signed the contract in Moscow, although we live in Tatarstan. As a result, because of this, difficulties arose - the regional authorities say: contact Moscow. We had problems with payments, benefits, and with the admission of the eldest daughter to the institute, "the interlocutor of RT emphasizes.

The woman added that after the departure of her husband, she has to support the whole family alone. Both of the couple's adult children are now educated and unable to work. In addition, the eldest daughter of the spouses was denied admission to the chosen university according to the quota for the children of the NWO participants - according to her mother, the daughter had to go to a paid department at another university.

"Next year, my daughter will again try to enter the free department. She has already graduated from law school, but to become a full-fledged specialist, a complete higher education is required. So we will continue to try, "said the interlocutor of RT.

Kindergarten out of turn

For children of SVO participants, not only preferential admission to universities is provided, but also extraordinary enrollment in schools and kindergartens. The corresponding decree was signed by President Vladimir Putin on June 24, 2023.

A resident of Dzerzhinsk, Irina Y., in an interview with RT, said that thanks to a presidential decree, she managed to transfer her four-year-old son to a new kindergarten. The interlocutor of RT added that in the Nizhny Novgorod region, children of NWO participants go to kindergartens for free - the decision to provide such benefits is made by the regional authorities independently.

"We go to kindergarten for free - to get this benefit, I just brought documents to the kindergarten confirming that my husband serves. I know that we also have access to free clubs, but we have not yet taken advantage of this, "says the woman.

Irina mentioned the situation when her husband came home during an official vacation - at that time, the child's visit to kindergarten had to be paid. However, the woman did not object.

"I was told that while the father of the child is on vacation, you have to pay for kindergarten. It didn't work out much anyway, in two weeks the amount is ridiculous, so I didn't resist. Moreover, then we received compensation for this period," explained the wife of the NWO participant.

In the Komi Republic, children of NWO participants are also provided with free access to kindergarten, Vladislava Sh., a resident of Syktyvkar, told RT.

"Kindergarten is free for our child, our family was also exempted from paying transport tax. In addition, we received all the due payments - both gubernatorial and presidential. There were no problems, everything came within the agreed ten-day period, "the interlocutor of RT listed.