Mykolaiv Launches Specialized Centers for "Defense of Ukraine" Education

Mykolaiv plans to create specialized centers for studying the subject "Defense of Ukraine."

According to Hanna Lychko, Head of the Education Department of the Mykolaiv City Council, such centers will operate on the basis of three lyceums in the city and should start operating on September 1.

According to the official, students from different educational institutions will be able to come to these centers to acquire the necessary knowledge, skills and abilities in appropriately equipped premises. A state subvention has been allocated to create the material and technical base and co-financing from the local budget is envisaged.

The purchase of the necessary equipment is currently underway, as well as repair work to ensure comfortable learning conditions.

Earlier, Iryna Kohut from the project office at the Ministry of Education and Science said that the subject "Defense of Ukraine" is an updated version of the course previously known as "Defense of the Fatherland" and "Pre-conscription training for young men." The course no longer prepares young people exclusively for military service, as it was in Soviet times, but is now focused on preparing all citizens, regardless of gender, for defense and security.

The program has been updated, reducing the amount of theory and eliminating outdated elements such as drill training. Instead, topics relevant to modern realities have been added: military technology, unmanned aerial vehicles, military operations management, information warfare, and intelligence. The goal is to provide students with the knowledge that will really come in handy in today's environment.

The creation of centers for teaching the updated subject "Defense of Ukraine" has also begun in Odesa region. The government has allocated over UAH 110 million for this purpose. The institutions where such educational spaces will be organized must operate exclusively in a face-to-face format and meet all safety requirements.

Андрій Колісніченко