Educational reform in the context of military training: new decisions following «Mirror Weekly» critique
After sharp criticism from the independent journalistic outlet «Mirror Weekly», Ukrainian authorities took a significant step toward revising and improving the youth military training system in schools.
During a recent interagency meeting on national resistance, a series of strategic measures aimed at reforming the «Defense of Ukraine» program, a crucial component of the modern education system, were discussed.
Central to the discussion were remarks made by journalist Roman Yanenko from «Mirror Weekly», who raised concerns about the current training methods not aligning with real defense needs.
His main argument was that instead of utilizing modern equipment, schools are spending substantial funds on outdated weapon mock-ups, which are ineffective and unnecessarily inflate budget costs.
Iryna Vereshchuk, Deputy Head of the Presidential Office, emphasized that the issues highlighted received full support during the discussion and were incorporated into the proposed actions.
As a result of the meeting, decisions were made to cancel expensive weapons imitation purchases and replace them with free transfers of decommissioned and refurbished weapons from the Ministry of Defense, resulting in significant budget savings of millions of hryvnias directed toward frontline needs.
Additionally, plans include updating training equipment, establishing obstacle courses for physical training, and integrating drones into the «Defense of Ukraine» curriculum.
Vereshchuk stressed that modern education must prepare children not only for the past but also for future warfare challenges, with an emphasis on contemporary defense realities.