Bac Giang province is located in the Northeastern gateway to Hanoi Capital, acting as an important transport hub connecting Red River Delta’s major economic centres with provinces of the Northern midland and mountainous region, holding a position of importance in socio-economic, defence, and security terms. Grasping and realising the viewpoint “socio-economic development is the centre, Party building is the key, cultural development is the spiritual foundation, defence and security assurance is the crucial, routine task”, over the years, the Party Organisation, authorities, armed forces, and people of Bac Giang province have upheld unity and promoted the province’s potential and advantages to effectively combine economic development with defence and security strengthening, thereby obtaining encouraging results. The province has seen robust socio-economic development; it has gradually become a major, modern industrial centre of the region and the whole country. Between 2021 and 2023, the province’s average economic growth rate was 14% per annum. In 2023, State budget revenues reached 17,000 billion VND, per capita income was about 101.9 million VND. The people’s mental and material life has been step by step improved; defence, security, and social order and safety have been maintained.

Graduation ceremony for learners of defence and security education from the 3rd group

Nevertheless, the province has been faced with a lot of difficulties caused by “urbanisation”, particularly environment pollution, threats to security in the rural areas and industrial zones, and the complex developments in crime, smuggling, and trade fraud. Against that backdrop, in addition to socio-economic development as the central task, the Provincial Party Committee, Provincial People’s Council, and Provincial People’s Committee have attached importance to leading and directing the performance of defence and security work. In this regard, defence and security education has been put at the forefront of the province’s leadership and direction.

Thoroughly grasping higher echelons’ directives, resolutions, and guidance on defence and security education, the Provincial Military Command (PMC) as the Standing Agency of the Provincial Defence and Security Education Council has coordinated with departments and sectors to assist the province in building and promulgating the system of documents for leading, directing, and guiding this important work in a close, synchronous, proper manner. At the same time, the PMC has proposed measures to both qualitatively and quantitatively consolidate all-level Defence and Security Education Councils, supplement and complete their operating regulations as the legal basis for them to direct, inspect, and guide the performance of defence and security education work in a close, synchronous, uniform, effective way.

Bac Giang is the 11^th populous locality in Vietnam with many ethnic groups and 2 main religions, namely Christianity and Buddhism. The province is home to nearly 70 educational institutions and many headquarters and representative offices of organisations with thousands of cadres, officials, and employees as a large number of learners of defence and security education. Currently, under the guidelines on fostering economic development, the province is executing many projects on traffic infrastructures and industrial zones as well as policies on attracting human resources, which could pose threats to its security and order. Being fully aware of that situation, the PMC has worked with departments and sectors to give advice to the Provincial People’s Committee on expanding groups of learners of defence and security education, particularly religious dignitaries, village heads, persons with great prestige, landlords, managers in industrial zones, and cadres and party members within private businesses. Besides, the PMC has proactively proposed measures to build a political force with cadres, party members, and former soldiers playing a core role in grasping the situation and conducting propagation within industrial zones. It has directed military offices at all levels to advise localities on stepping up both direct and indirect propagation to enable the people to grasp the Party’s lines and the State’s policies to avoid being incited to group lawsuits.

The province has also focused on renewing the content, organisation, and methods of defence and security education in accordance with each group of learners and each area. Under Circular 172/2020/TT-BQP dated 30 December 2020 by the Ministry of National Defence on “Promulgating the framework for defence and security education”, the province has directed its localities to renew the content of defence and security education, design specialised topics, and actively include new issues on defence and security, particularly the combination of socio-economic development and defence-security strengthening, the Party’s law and policies on ethnicity and religion, and localities’ political tasks in accordance with each group of learners and the characteristics of each area. Concerning the organisation of defence and security education, the province has advocated decentralising this work and encouraged the joint effort from all levels. As for the 2^nd group of learners, a part from courses held by the Military Region, the province has actively organised those courses within its localities. Similarly, for the 3^rd and 4^th groups of learners, the province has directed its districts, cities, and towns to cooperate with one another in holding defence and security education courses under regulations. For religious dignitaries and persons with great prestige within communities, the PMC has proactively cooperated with Fatherland Fronts, competent offices, and local authorities in working with pastoral councils of churches, head monks of pagodas, and persons having great prestige in religions to reach agreement on organising defence and security education courses properly and avoid religious holidays. At the same time, cadres from the Ethnicity, Religion, and Buddhist Administration Commissions have been assigned to deliver specialised topics. Thanks to that approach, in 2023, the province fulfilled all targets of defence and security education and equipped nearly 120 village heads and religious dignitaries with necessary knowledge of defence and security.

The PMC inspects defence and security education work for pupils of Tan Yen district

Additionally, the province has seriously directed the work of defence and security education for pupils and students – the future human resources of localities and the country. The PMC has cooperated with the Department of Education and Training in directing educational institutions and Ngo Gia Tu College, Bac Giang to consolidate a contingent of teachers of defence and security education, upgrade teaching equipment and models, and formulate various measures for the raised quality of this subject. Doing so has helped make a positive change in the work of defence and security education for pupils and students of the province. However, facilities and the quality of teachers of defence and security education within schools of the province have been still limited, thereby greatly impacting on the quality of this work. To deal with this problem, in the upcoming time, the PMC will continue to assist schools in preparing means, models, materials and training grounds as well as organising refresher courses on teaching methodology and military training skills for teachers, with priority given to schools located in 6 mountainous districts. As the province is home to many military and public security offices and units as well as historical relic sites, the PMC will continue to cooperate with the Department of Education and Training and competent offices in directing schools to increase extra-curricular activities, specialised talk shows, and visits to historical relic sites, with a view to enabling pupils and students to more understand defence and security work and the armed forces’ tasks as well as to raising the youth’s awareness and responsibility.

Bac Giang is the first locality to receive the Prime Minister’s approval for its Provincial Planning for the period of 2021 – 2030 with a vision towards 2050; it has been implementing a lot of large-scale projects for development, thus causing numerous complex issues. To achieve a consensus among people from all walks of life about the implementation of its guidelines and policies, the province has enhanced propagation and dissemination of knowledge of defence and security among all people. To that end, the PMC has proactively cooperated with the Information and Education Commission under the Provincial Party Committee, the Department of Culture, Sports, and Tourism, and other competent offices in developing and realising propagation plans for the people, with importance attached to bringing into play local historical tradition and culture. The province has continued to multiply models of propagation during traditional festivals, foster the development of cultural tourism, and encourage experience activities, specialised talk shows, and historical study at its relic sites, such as Yen The and Xuong Giang. It has intensified propagation in direct forms and via the provision of documents during ceremonies for traditional days, military service, and defensive zone exercises. Propagation work has been integrated into community meetings and operations of Fatherland Fronts, unions, and culture, arts, and sports organisations. The province has promoted the role of a pool of communicators and collaborators in propagation work. While frequently exchanging and providing information and documents, the province has encouraged religious dignitaries and persons with great prestige within communities to well conduct propagation work among their fellows and all citizens, thus allowing the people to actively take part in the development of their hometown.

A part from propagation and education work, the province has directed all-level party committees and authorities, unions, and the armed forces to grasp the people’s aspirations and opportunely deal with issues right at grass-roots level. At the same time, it has organised a lot of activities to help the people in difficult areas with economic development in order to cement their faith in the Party and State and enhance its potential and postures, particularly the “posture of people’s hearts and minds” as the basis for Bac Giang to become a modern-oriented industrial province by 2030 and a top locality of the whole country and the Northern Midland and Mountainous Region in terms of GRDP.

Sr. Col. PHAM VAN TAO

Member of the Provincial Party Committee Standing Board

Commander of the PMC