What's New
Poland has introduced mandatory firearms training for schoolchildren amid concerns over potential Russian aggression.
The new training will see children aged between 14 and 16 years old train with guns for up to an hour a week as the war in Ukraine continues to impact Poland's borders with both Ukraine and Russia.
Newsweek contacted the Polish Ministry of National Education for comment via email.
Why It Matters
Poland is a member of NATO that borders both Ukraine and Russia, making it an important nation in relations between Moscow and the West. It has a complicated relationship with the Kremlin, especially following the invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Poland takes the potential threat of Russian military activity very seriously, and has taken several steps to secure its airspace and borders as the war continues. The new education policy is the latest in a series of plans to prepare the population for military threats.
What To Know
The "Education for Safety" program will create one-hour weekly lessons conducted in school gymnasiums. The training will involve laser-based technology to ensure safety, with no live ammunition being used.
The curriculum encompasses firearms handling, state security education, survival skills, tactical rescue, first aid, and cybersecurity. Students will also be taught how to assemble and disassemble weapons.
The program is set to be rolled out across all 18,000 schools nationwide in Poland. Managed by the nation's Department of National Education, the program is designed to teach students how to deal "with threats caused by warfare and the basics of tactical rescue."
Other areas students will receive training in are mass accidents and disaster response, along with basic first aid and health education.
What People Are Saying
The Polish Department of National Education said in a statement: "For primary schools, requirements include knowledge of the local area, cybersecurity in the military dimension, preparation for shooting training; and for secondary schools, children must know how to respond to a threat of warfare, cybersecurity in the military dimension, and participate in shooting training."
In a statement to Euronews, the Polish minister for education said: "In primary schools, the requirements include theoretical preparation on the safe handling of weapons.
"In secondary schools, basic shooting training with a practical component will be conducted using safe tools for shooting exercises, such as firearms, pneumatic weapons, replicas of firearms, or virtual/laser shooting ranges."
What Happens Next
The war in Ukraine continues, with no sign of the conflict de-escalating. Many NATO countries will continue to grapple with the ramifications of supporting Ukraine in the conflict, something which Russia has condemned as direct intervention.
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