Girls and boys in schools will receive general military training on an equal footing
24 April 2024 11:43
The Verkhovna Rada passed a draft law on initial general military training in the first reading. The new rules abolish the concept of “pre-conscription training” and the division of boys and girls in the school subject “Defence of Ukraine”. This was announced by Roman Hryshchuk, MP from the Servant of the People faction, member of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on Education, Science and Innovation, Komersant ukrainskyi 
reports.
MP Hryshchuk initiated this bill. He noted that there are currently two concepts that define the training system: pre-conscription and initial general military training, which contradict each other.
“In this regard, we propose to eliminate the conflict. The changes will allow us to update the bylaws that still separate girls and boys in the study of the Defence of Ukraine subject and limit the education of women in higher education institutions who want to teach the subject,”
– hryshchuk explained.
General military training for schoolchildren in grades 10-11 existed before, but boys and girls studied under different curricula in the Defence of Ukraine class. Boys learned the basics of military training, and girls learned the basics of medical knowledge. Girls could join the “boys'” course if they wished, if their parents wrote a corresponding application.
This division, according to the authors of the draft law, contributes to the stereotyping of the role of gender in the defence of Ukraine. Therefore, the document replaces the concept of “pre-conscription training” with “initial general military training” and cancels the division of training by gender.
It should be noted that in 2020, as part of decommunisation, the Cabinet of Ministers renamed the school subject “Defence of the Fatherland”, known as DPU, to “Defence of Ukraine”. This was explained by the fact that the previous name was part of the outdated Soviet paradigm.
In 2023, the Ministry of Education updated the Defence of Ukraine subject and added drone operations to the curriculum.
