Enhancing defence and security education is a right policy to raise people’s awareness and sense of responsibility for consolidating defence and security and building a firm "people’s heart-and-mind posture" in a strong all-people defence which has been stated by the 13^th Congress of the Party. This sets out and requires us to thoroughly grasp and strictly implement the policy to meet the requirements for building and protecting the Fatherland in the new period.

In recent years, defence and security education has seen new and in-depth developments and practical effectiveness. However, the world and regional situations have witnessed many complicated and unpredictable changes. Populism, extreme nationalism, pragmatism, and great powers in international relations are becoming increasingly popular. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, especially digital technology, is developing strongly and bringing about breakthroughs in many fields, including the defence. Disputes concerning sovereignty over territories, seas, and islands are becoming more intense, complex, and drastic. Peace, stability, security, freedom, and safety of navigation and aviation in the East Sea are facing great challenges and potential conflicts. That situation poses the task of protecting the Fatherland with both new opportunities and challenges. To firmly protect the Socialist Fatherland in the above context, the 13^th Party Congress has determined that: "to well implement the work of defence and security education to raise awareness, sense of responsibility, and action of the entire people for the task of protecting the Fatherland and consolidating defence and security. Fully exploit resources, potentials, and strengths to develop defence and security potentials in association with economic, cultural and social development. To thoroughly grasp and implement the above policy, it is necessary to implement a number of solutions as follows:

Firstly, to thoroughly communicate and concretise the Party's guidelines and views on defence and security education to the entire people. All levels and branches should continue promoting propagation and education to raise awareness of the entire people, particularly leading, managerial, presiding, and key officials at all levels regarding the position and role of defence and security education in the current situation. Ministries, branches, localities, and armed forces should continue thoroughly grasping the Party's directives and resolutions and the State's laws on this work, especially the Law on Defence and Security Education 2013 and newly issued legal documents, including Circular No.172/2020/TT-BQP issued on December 30^th, 2020 by the Ministry of National Defence on the framework program for defence and security education; Circular No.05/2020/TT-BGDĐT issued on March 18^th, 2020 by the Ministry of Education and Training on the defence and security education program in pedagogical schools, pedagogical colleges and higher education institutions, etc. On that basis, to mobilise and promote the strength and participation of the whole political system and people and close coordination and synergies among forces, and effectiveness of the leadership of the Party Committees, management and administration of the authorities and heads of agencies and organisations over defence and security education, training and propagation.

Secondly, to pay regular attention to consolidating and improving the capacity and operational efficiency of the councils for defence and security education at all levels. The councils for defence and security education Council have the function of inter-sectoral coordination, advising and consultation for the Party committees and authorities at all levels on defence and security education. Therefore, agencies, organisations, and localities should regularly strengthen and consolidate these councils at all levels to ensure the structure, composition, and compliance with the Law. To focus on leading, directing, and maintaining order and effectiveness of the council's activities; promote the role and functions of the military and public security agencies as standing bodies at all levels; and closely coordinate with departments, branches, and mass organisations in advising and organising the implementation. The defence and security education councils at all levels should strengthen the inspection, examination, preliminary review, summary, and review for timely praise, commendation, and replication of advanced examples and good practices and rectify and handle violations.

Thirdly, to continue making breakthroughs in innovation of contents and methods of defence and security education and fostering. The 13^th Party Congress emphasised that: "To renovate and improve the quality and efficiency of defence and security knowledge education and fostering for cadres, civil servants, and the whole people to ensure conformity with the requirements of defence and security standards. To focus on educating, unifying, and raising awareness about partners and objects; firmly grasp the guidelines, viewpoints, requirements, and tasks of protecting the Fatherland in the new situation". The content of innovation should follow and update new views, thinking, and development on the Party's defence and security guidelines that have been summarised by the 13^th Party Congress, including unifying and raising awareness and thinking, about partners and objects; protect the Fatherland early and from afar; combine armed struggle with non-armed struggle; maintain independence and self-reliance in terms of expanding international cooperation; closely combine socio-economic development with strengthening of defence and security, etc. Therefore, ministries and branches, first of all the ministries of Defence, Public Security, and Education and Training, need to actively coordinate in researching and proposing amendments and supplements to contents, programs, and curricula of defence and security education and fostering to suit each obbject and practical situation, especially leading officials of localities, departments, ministries, and branches. For the mass propagation, the Central Defence and Security Education Council should actively coordinate with the Central Propaganda Department, the Ministry of Information and Communications, and the press agencies in developing programs, plans, and projects; open specialised pages and columns to diversify propagation contents; bring into play the strengths of the mass media, social networks, and reporters to propagate and disseminate defence and security knowledge to all classes of people.

Fourthly, to constantly improve the quality of lecturers and forces involved in defence and security education. Improving the quality of lecturers and forces involved in defence education is one of the very important solutions in renovating defence education for cadres today. The advisory agencies should investigate, survey, and properly assess the situation of the lecturers and forces involved in defence and security education; develop strategies, plans, and projects on training and fostering to meet the requirements of defence education renovation in the new period. To standardise the contingent of lectures and forces involved in defence and security education for each specific major or subject. To regularly organise fostering and training to improve the comprehensive capacity of lecturers on awareness, contents, and methods of defence education; have regimes, mechanisms, and policies to encourage the self-study spirit of the lecturers and officials involved in this task to improve the comprehensive qualifications, especially the pedagogical skills.

Finally, to increase investment and ensure facilities for defence and security education. Along with the renovation of stages and steps of the process of defence and security education, it is necessary to strengthen the facilities to ensure the teaching and learning process. In the immediate future, the organisation and staffing of agencies with assurance functions should be streamlined, compact, and concentrated into specialised agencies and units with sufficient competence and professional capacity; reduce the intermediate clues to avoid overlapping and waste. To gradually synchronise and modernise facilities to meet the requirements and tasks of defence education in the new period. To ensure adequate weapons, equipment, facilities, textbooks, and reference materials for teaching and evaluating results. To prioritise and study the construction of clusters of training fields and grounds and classrooms for specialised and concentrated defence education towards modernity.

Defence and security education contributes to arousing patriotic traditions, national pride, beliefs, and aspirations to develop a prosperous and happy country to become an endogenous force and an important driving force to develop the country and protect the Fatherland. Therefore, it is necessary to continue thoroughly grasping and strictly implementing the Party's viewpoints and policies on defence and security education set by the 13^th Party Congress by the overall contents and solutions, including the aforementioned ones.

Senior Colonel, PhD. PHI VAN HANH, Academy of Politics, Ministry of National Defence