The Verkhovna Rada cancels deferment for students aged 25+: who will it affect.

According to ТСН: The Verkhovna Rada plans to change the mobilization rules by canceling the deferment for men who have reached the age of 25 and wish to pursue higher, pre-higher, or vocational education.

This initiative was announced by MP Serhiy Babak during a telethon.

“Right now in the Verkhovna Rada, in the Committee on Security, Defense, and Intelligence, there is one of the draft laws which, of course, cannot limit the right to education but can limit the right to deferment. And one of these draft laws is already ready for a second reading and states that men aged 25+, who will enroll in higher education institutions, pre-professional, or vocational institutions, will not have the right to deferment. It is radical, but necessary if we talk about the security of our country,” he said.

Babak noted that until 2022, about 30 thousand men over the age of 25 were studying in Ukraine's higher and vocational education system on average. As of September 1, 2025, their number has grown to about 250 thousand.

“The state cannot limit the right to education, but will check how these people actually study. And the State Service for Quality of Education has already conducted many inspections, resulting in nearly 50 thousand individuals being expelled, who were not actually studying but were only formally hiding in these educational institutions,” the MP explained.

He also emphasized that the activities of the management of educational institutions are being checked, and eight criminal cases have already been opened regarding the mass recruitment of such students.

It was previously reported that the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Ukraine Oleksandr Syrskyi announced an intensification of mobilization and recruitment in response to the actions of the occupying forces of the Russian Federation.

Changes in legislation may significantly impact the education system in Ukraine and the student body. The cancellation of deferment for men over 25 has raised many inquiries and discussions among the population, as this decision affects not only the future of individuals but also the security of the country as a whole. According to experts, government support should help prevent formal approaches to education, particularly for those seeking to avoid mobilization.