Poland introduces mandatory firearms training for schoolchildren amid Russia threat

Most countries want their children to be as far away from weapons as possible. Not Poland.

Faced with the proximity of Russia’s ongoing all-out invasion of neighbouring Ukraine and increasing fears of Moscow’s threats to its own territory, the Polish government has introduced mandatory firearms training for children in primary and secondary schools.

Children as young as 14 years old are now participating in gun training sessions designed to give them "shooting skills" and teach them how to cope "with threats caused by warfare and the basics of tactical rescue."

The curriculum includes lessons on how to assemble and disassemble a weapon and how to improve aim accuracy by shooting at a target. To protect the students, the classes, which take place in the schools' own gyms, use laser guns instead of live ammunition.

Labelled Education for Safety, the subject is mandatory in the eight grade of primary school and the first grade of secondary school, where children are typically between 14 and 16 years old.

It takes up no more than one hour per week, and the learning objectives include state security, rescue activities in situations of extraordinary threats — such as mass accidents and disasters — basic first aid and health education.

As for the shooting training, "in primary schools, the requirements include theoretical preparation on the safe handling of weapons," explained Poland’s education ministry in an email to Euronews.

"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 (ASG), or virtual/laser shooting ranges," the ministry added.

Compulsory training

Poland has around 18,000 schools, all of which are in the process of implementing this laser-based training technology.

Some already offered the training: the first regulations amending the core curriculum in the field of safety education entered into force on 1 September 2022. Up until then, the lessons were optional.

Now, the training will be mandatory this school year, with those schools located in districts with access to firearms, pneumatic weapons, ASGs, and laser shooting ranges having implemented it back in 2022.

“The new curriculum content for the subject includes the following topics from the area of defence education: responding to a threat of warfare (i.e., survival, including places of refuge); principles of first aid in the event of threats involving conventional weapons,” Polish authorities said.

Additionally, “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.”

The changes, prepared in cooperation with the national defence ministry, respond to “the increasing threat to state security from the 2022 war in Ukraine” and the “urgent need to supplement” teaching content with topics related to state defence.

The initiative, motivated by an increasing fear of Russia’s aggression, fails to surprise, as gun ownership is quite widespread and accepted in Poland.

The country allows citizens to own modern firearms under strict regulations: applicants must be at least 21 years old, undergo a psychological evaluation, and demonstrate a legitimate need for a gun, such as for hunting, sport shooting, or self-defence.

They must also pass a background check, which includes a review of criminal and mental health records. Additionally, gun owners are required to complete a firearms training course.