Over the past years, Hai Phong Municipal Military Command (MMC) and its Party Committee and all-level party committees and commands have always paid due attention to leading and directing the performance of the political education work via many practical, effective measures. Focuses have been placed on renewing the contents, forms and organization of education, improving the quality of instructors, enhancing the work of inspecting and re-examining the results of education, and providing equipment for political education. As a result, the quality and effectiveness of this work has been raised while the staff of the municipal armed forces have always had stable political stuff, a sense of responsibility, absolute loyalty to the Party, Homeland, and people, pure morality, and healthy lifestyle, preserved and promoted the virtues of “Uncle Ho’s soldiers”, readily undertaken and fulfilled all assigned tasks, and maintained the Party’s political ground within the Military. In the process, the municipal armed forces have drawn some lessons as follows.

Sr. Col. Dao Van Thap presenting awards to those who gain achievements in political education in the 2013-2018 period

First, enhancing the leadership and direction of the party committees, political commissars and junior political commissars and commanders as well as the all-level political offices’ capability in counselling and inspecting the work of political education. Grounded on the project on “renewing political education in units in the new period”, the basic political education program for all objects, and the reality of the municipal armed forces, annually, the all-level party committees and commands issue resolutions and plans for political education, actively implement the political education program, evaluate the performance of this work, and draw lessons in order to overcome weaknesses in this work. The contents of political education are included in the working plans of political commissars, junior political commissars and commanders. Political education have been combined with discipline and legal education and dissemination; ideological management has been stepped up; there have been no sign of assigning this work to the political offices only or irresponsibility for the implementation process. The MMC has directed its Political Office to closely cooperate with competent offices in giving advice to each unit on formulating the plan to carry out the work of political education, organizing and multiplying models and effective, creative approaches¹. The all-level political offices have actively stayed close to the situation and the task requirements, counselled and acted as the core in the performance of the political education work, while closely cooperating with competent offices in building the plans, giving instructions on, inspecting, and conducting the work of political education in an orderly, uniform manner within offices and units. In the process, units have promoted the role and responsibility of party committees and organizations, and particularly political cadres, ensuring that the work of political education has always been comprehensively renewed and conducted effectively on a synchronous, focalized basis.

Second, encouraging the role of political instructors who are regarded as a deciding factor in the units’ quality of political education. Perceiving that, the MMC and its Party Committee have directed offices and units to regularly consolidate a contingent of political instructors at all level both qualitatively and quantitatively according to the requirements for the reform in political education. Great value has been attached to selecting cadres with comprehensive capability, good political, military, economic, cultural and social knowledge, good teaching method, and scientific working method as the typical examples in study, work and self-improvement in the units.

Annually, the MMC and its affiliated units organize training courses for 100% of party committee members and political cadres on the uniformed contents and methods to carry out the work of political education. Focuses have been placed on training them the method and skills to prepare lesson plans and lectures (particularly electronic ones), study documents, update themselves on new information, deliver lectures, and select photos to make their lectures more attractive. Groups of political instructors have maintained the order for approving lectures and organizing model lectures to supplement, complete, and improve the quality of lectures, opportunely draw lessons, and overcome weaknesses, particularly in lesson planning and teaching methodology. Besides, the MMC well organized the competition entitled “Good political instructors” and the teaching competition under the Regulations on Political Education in line with the Project on “Renewing political education in units in the new period”, thereby improving the knowledge of political cadres and instructors comprehensively, contributing to enhancing the effectiveness of political educations within the units.

Third, actively renewing the study contents, forms and methods to enhance the quality of political education. As the municipal armed forces are scattered (both on land and islands) with various groups of troops and the unequal intellectual level, the MMC has directed offices and units to strictly implement the political education program under the regulations set by the General Department of Politics and the Political Department under the Military Region 3. Focuses of the program have been placed on the Party’s resolutions and directives, special topics related to the study and following of Ho Chi Minh’s ideology, morality and lifestyle, the Military and units’ tasks, the hostile forces’ plot and artifices. At the same time, offices and units have been asked to combine political education with law education, regularity building, discipline management and exchange and twinning activities, emulation movements and campaigns launched by the Party, State, Military, and units. It is a new feature of political education that offices and units have educated troops on living and communication skills and concentrated on handling their free-style, arbitrary behaviours and outburst. At the same time, they have elaborately compiled political education documents at each level with the increase in illustrations which have enabled troops to grasp the main points and raised their awareness in accordance with their task (each year, the MMC and units compile 38 special topics of political education). The results of annual political knowledge tests have been raised and contributed to improving cadres and troops’ awareness and responsibility and equipping them with basic political, cultural, social, military, legal, military discipline knowledge as the basis for successfully fulfilling their assigned tasks.

To boost the effectiveness of political education, the municipal armed forces have employed forms of education in an “open” manner with a focus on making a change in learners’ awareness and action, taking advantage of forms of education, such as full-time political education courses, political and ideological meetings, news briefings, newspaper reading, radio listening, TV watching, the Political and Spiritual Day, activities on the occasion of the major events of the country and the Military and units’ traditional days, cultural activities, and exchange and twinning programs. Emphasis has been placed on renewing full-time political education courses intended for each group of troops. As for courses held by the MMC, significance has been attached to organizing discussions and debates to clarify issues. As for party members, company-level officers, professional servicemen, and defence employees, consideration has been given to raising the issues and instructing learners to self-study, discuss, and clarify the main points. As for non-commissioned officers and soldiers, importance has been attached to analyzing and clarifying each issue and providing case examples, thereby making it easier for them to understand, remember and record. As for the militia and self-defence and reserve forces, great value has been attached to providing supplementary information and broadening learners’ knowledge. As for the units with scattered sections or those tasked with specialized missions, methods of study have been flexibly employed, such as shift-based study, distribution of documents, self-study. To make political education effective, the Regiment 50 and the Armoured Battalion 34 have rotated political instructors’ teaching job among their units and organized many models, such as “my squad asks, your squad answers”, “study couple”, and “star squad”.

Offices and units have integrated various methods into political education, combining presentation with issue analysis and raising, using photos, visual models, videos and documentaries to draw the intention of learners and improve their knowledge. As a result, when attending political education courses, troops have always felt excited, and the contents of political education have been easy for them to understand and remember.

Promoting the obtained results and experience, Hai Phong MMC and its Party Committee will continue renewing and improving the quality and effectiveness of the political education work, contributing to maintaining the Party’s ideological ground and making the municipal armed forces politically strong as the basis for enhancing the synergy and combat strength and successfully fulfilling the task in all situations.

Sr. Col. Dao Van Thap, Permanent Deputy Secretary of the Municipal Military Party Committee, Political Commissar of the MMC
_________

1- Models include: the Municipal Military School’s reform in compiling political documents; the Le Chan District Military Command’s political education via electronic lesson plans; Hai An District Military Command’s research on special topics for officers and professional servicemen; Regiment 50’s political education for new recruits, non-commissioned officers, and soldiers, its implementation of Political and Spiritual Day, and its political study and teaching via the Internet and use of projectors during political lectures in units; Regiment 836’s reform in evaluating the results of political education; Armoured Battalion 34’s political and news briefings.