Students over 25 years old are under threat: who will lose their deferment from mobilization
7 April 14:10
Not all students and teachers will be able to count on a deferral from mobilization this year if the Verkhovna Rada adopts the amendments to Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine “On Mobilization Training and Mobilization” drafted by the Cabinet of Ministers. Those who are 25 years old and have decided to get a working specialty are at risk of graduating early. For more details on the changes to the legislation, read
A few days ago, the website of the Ministry of Education published information that the government had adopted a draft Law of Ukraine “On Amendments to Article 23 of the Law of Ukraine ‘On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization’ Regarding the Rights of Teachers and Students.”
The draft law provides for the “exclusion of the use of education as a way to evade mobilization” under martial law, namely
- limiting the age to 25 years for granting a deferral from mobilization for students of vocational schools and students of vocational colleges;
- excluding the right to deferment for students of vocational schools who are upgrading their qualifications without obtaining a degree;
- eliminating existing gaps in the legislation on determining the sequence of education that gives the right to deferment during mobilization;
- granting the right to postpone mobilization to teaching staff of higher education institutions with academic degrees and out-of-school education institutions of state and municipal ownership who, as of January 1, 2025, worked and continue to work in these institutions at their main place of work.
College and school students will be out of luck
The draft law provides for a deferral from mobilization for university students who are studying for the first time and are enrolled in full-time or dual programs. Doctoral students, interns and resident doctors who are studying for the first time at the appropriate level. As well as vocational school students and college students who entered no later than one year before reaching the age of conscription (up to 25 years).
Research and teaching staff working at 0.75 full-time equivalent positions or more in educational institutions and research facilities will also be able to continue to work. Teachers of extracurricular education, heads of clubs, if they were employed before the beginning of 2025.
This means that the range of deferral recipients will be significantly narrowed. Men over 25 years of age who are re-enrolled at the same or lower level of education, as well as those who study abroad after February 24, 2022, will not receive a deferral.
In essence, it turns out that those who decide to get a second higher education if they already have a first one, say, a master’s degree, and study for a bachelor’s degree as the first stage, will be at risk instead of studying at a college or university. But the worst luck will be for those liable for military service who, after the age of 25, decide to get a specialty in vocational schools or colleges.
Everything for some, nothing for others
As noted in the commentary
“That is, there will be no claims to those who entered a higher education institution for the first time, regardless of age, and they will receive a deferment from mobilization regardless of age, as they ‘do not disrupt the sequence of studies’. However, the Cabinet proposes to grant a deferral from mobilization to students of vocational schools and vocational colleges only until they are 25 years old, who are already entitled to a deferral by law. It turns out that vocational school and college students over the age of 25 will automatically lose their deferment, even if it is their first year of study, unlike university students. It seems strange that a university student has more rights than a vocational school or college student. And this is despite the fact that today we have a huge shortage of blue-collar workers – locksmiths, plumbers, electricians, welders, and so on – but a surplus of economists and lawyers,” the lawyer emphasizes.
Lawyers do not rule out that there will be many lawsuits.
By the way, the Ministry of Education and Science has lost about 400 cases in courts related to mobilization issues, among other things. For example, if a student did not complete his or her studies and was expelled, and then re-entered the same level, then according to the Ministry’s algorithm, it is he or she who is already violating the sequence. And this is recorded in the certificate for the TEC. The courts have often recognized this approach as unlawful, because education is judged on the basis of the diploma issued and decisions are made in favor of the student.
Author: Alla Dunina
