The Cabinet proposed to revoke draft deferments for men who enrolled in vocational education after the age of 25

The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine has submitted draft law No. 13193 to the Verkhovna Rada, which would remove mobilization deferrals for students over the age of 25 who are enrolled in vocational or professional pre-higher education programs. The purpose of the bill is to prevent the use of education as a method of evading military service.

A summary of the bill has been published on the official website of the Ukrainian Parliament.

The draft law proposes amendments to Article 23 of the Law “On Mobilization Preparation and Mobilization,”which currently outlines the rights to deferment for students and educational staff. Under this article, students in vocational, professional pre-higher, and higher education, as well as graduate interns, postgraduate students, and doctoral candidates studying full-time or in dual programs, and academic staff with scientific degrees, are eligible for mobilization deferrals.

According to the government, many draft-eligible men have used this provision to avoid conscription, by enrolling between 2022 and 2024 in education programs at the same or even lower levels than degrees they already hold.

Over the past six months, there has been a notable increase in the number of vocational (17,338) and professional pre-higher education (75,618) students over age 25 who are using education as a legal basis for deferment.

“Students pursuing education in a non-sequential manner, and those who began studying abroad after February 24, 2022, continue to challenge in court the legal provision that denies deferment to students outside the sequential education pathway,” the government explained.

There have already been first-instance court decisions in which judges have criticized the Ministry of Education’s definition of “sequential education”, and have ordered the Ministry and the state enterprise “Inforesurs” (which manages Ukraine’s education database, EDEBO) to amend education records to restore deferment rights.

The rising number of lawsuits filed by students in non-sequential education and the growing involvement of lawyersin these cases, the government argues, necessitate legal amendments that would eliminate such legal loopholes and better regulate military duty and mobilization.

Therefore, this new bill aims to close off the use of education as a legal shield against mobilization.

The government believes the law will reduce violations of mobilization legislation.

Ironically, just earlier in April, the Cabinet approved a different amendment to Article 23 that expanded the list of students and educators exempt from mobilization.