Education and training have always been highly appreciated and considered as the top national policy for national development by our Party. The Draft Documents (the Draft) submitted to the 13^th Party Congress continues to emphasize the role of education and training, and contains many new contents in line with the development trend of the time.

Assessment the results of implementing the 12^th Congress Resolution on education and training is presented concisely, substantially, and objectively in the Draft to reflect both the achievements and limitations of education and training during the last tenure. At the same time, there is also the uniform assessment in the draft Documents. In particular, in general assessment, the limitations of education and training are frankly pointed out: "The reform of education and training has yet to meet the development requirements”. This is an important point to realize more fully the advantages and disadvantages of the education and training sector as a basis for determining directions, tasks, and solutions to promote the fundamental and comprehensive reform to meet the development requirements of the country.

In the Draft, the education and training orientations, tasks, and solutions are presented comprehensively and synchronously in Section V - Fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training, improvement of quality of human resources, and human development. From the title to the content, there are very important new points. Notably, for the first time in the Documents, the Party simultaneously points the task of “human development” together with the task of “improving the quality of human resources” of education and training. This is a new point compared with the 12^th Congress’ Resolution: “Fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training; improvement of quality of human resources”. This issue has many controversial opinions, arguing that it is not necessary to include in the title the phrase “human development”. However, both theory and practice confirm that this supplementation is necessary, appropriate, and scientific to demonstrate the consistency, inheritance, and development of the point of view of the previous tenure and, especially, to meet the requirements of practice. The 12^th Congress determined that “Education is the top national policy. Developing education and training is to raise the people's knowledge, train human resources, and foster talents”. In that spirit, one of the missions of education and training is to develop human resources and that spirit continues to be affirmed by the Draft. The human issue is always associated with many fields. After all, human is both the target and the driving force of development. Moreover, human is the most precious capital and the highest goal of development. There are two key areas of human development: Education and culture. Therefore, the first and foremost mission of education is human development. This is the consistency in developing and perfecting the educational philosophy of “Human teaching, literacy teaching and vocational training” - the guiding perspective on education and training confirmed in previous Party Documents. Practice shows that, limitations and weaknesses in human development leading to limitations and weaknesses in many other fields in the previous tenure are directly related to the quality and results of education and training. “Improvement of the quality of human resources and human development” is the central task and also the mission of education and training in the coming years to realize the development vision and goals as draft reports have determined. At that time, education and training, together with science and technology, are really “key drivers for the development of the country”. In that spirit, the overarching directions and tasks identified by the Draft are: “To build synchronous institutions and policies to effectively implement the guideline that education and training together with science and technology are the top national policies and key driving forces for national development”. This is a new point that shows the determination to realize the point of view on the position and role of education and training in practice and solve the “bottleneck” of previous years.

The fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training continues to be affirmed, supplemented, and developed. The Draft Documents emphasize, first of all, the need to focus on synchronous reform of the basic factors of education and training, including objectives, contents, programs, modes, and methods. The reform direction for those factors has had a new development, both consistent with the mission of “improvement of the quality of human resources and human development” and meeting the demands and movements of practice as identified by the Draft: “Continue to synchronously reform the objectives, contents, programs, modes, and methods of education and training towards modernization, international integration, and comprehensive human development to meet the new requirements of socio-economic development, science, and technology and adapt to the Fourth Industrial Revolution”. The major orientations on the comprehensive development of Vietnamese people in the current period that education and training must focus on are also specifically identified. In particular, emphasizes are “To pay more attention to education on quality, creative capacity, and core values, especially the spirit of patriotism and national pride to arouse aspirations for development, construction, and protection of the Fatherland. To associate education on knowledge, ethics, aesthetics, and life skills with physical education to improve the stature of Vietnamese people and meet the requirements of construction and protection of the Fatherland”. Such determination has clearly shaped the model of Vietnamese people to be comprehensively developed in the new era - the fundamental orientation for the comprehensive reform of education and training. This point is also consistent with the important elements identified in the theme of the Congress: “Promoting the will, aspirations, and power of national unity in association with the power of the time; promoting creative innovation…”

The close association of education and training with research, development, and application of new scientific and technological achievements is identified and emphasized more clearly by the Draft. In particular, the mindset of eliminating subsidies and choosing a breakthrough is clearly shown through the policy of “forming excellent research centers, strong creative innovation groups, and science and technology enterprises that operate effectively at higher education and vocational education institutions”. This is a new issue that is completely consistent with the progressive trend of the world and our country’s market economic conditions and international integration. The form and model of organizing scientific research and technology transfer activities will promote the integration process and raise the status of higher education and vocational education institutions that make education and training effective associate with scientific research, production, business, and domestic and foreign markets.

The issue of international cooperation and integration in education and training that is added and developed is one of the most prominent new points. Consistent with the view of proactive international integration in a comprehensive and extensive manner, the Draft defines: “To establish and effectively implement the strategy for international cooperation and integration in education and training”. This issue is considered in the relationship with the national integration on the regional and international levels. The 12^th Congress’ defined “By 2030, to strive for the Vietnamese education to reach the advanced level in the region”. The Draft also defines: “to strive for Vietnam to become a strong country in education and training in the region to keep pace with the world's advanced level and participate in the international human resource training market”. This goal shows the determination and aspirations to develop education and training in the process of globalization and international integration to proactively take appropriate steps to participate in the world education and training market.

However, the issue of education and training in the Draft documents, especially in the Draft Political Report, should continue to be studied, exchanged and supplemented. Assessing of the implementation results of the 12^th Congress’ Resolution, in the field of education and training, it is necessary to study and clarify the issue of autonomy and self-responsibility of educational and training institutions. The 12^th Congress’ Resolution defined a major policy of granting autonomy and self-responsibility to education and training institutions. In fact, over the past five years, this issue has always been hot and difficult, arising many complications, even negative ones. The relationship between state management, market regulation, and social supervision and the autonomy and self-responsibility of educational and training institutions should be summarized, thoroughly reviewed, and more deeply assessed in term of reforming education and training in the context of the socialist-oriented market economy and international integration.

In terms of directions, tasks, and solutions, along with the policy and solution for “Organizing and fundamentally reforming the system of pedagogical training institutions” as defined in the Draft Political Report, it is proposed to supplement undertakings and solutions on mechanisms and policies to form a number of pedagogical training institutions reaching regional high-quality standards. This is the requirement of a fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training in the context of a socialist-oriented market economy and international integration, that is consistent with the characteristics of the pedagogical training field.

It is also proposed to research, supplement, and raise the issue of “Building an educational cultural environment” instead of “Building a healthy educational environment...”. The issue of building a healthy educational environment is correct but not enough. Education and training, with the mission of comprehensive human development, must form an educational culture in the society and in a cultural and educational environment in educational and training institutions. On the other hand, such adjustment is also consistent with the development of the Vietnamese cultural value system and human standards identified in Section VII of the Draft Political Report. Educational culture is a big issue that needs to be included in the Party’s Documents to serve as the basis and orientation for the fundamental and comprehensive reform of education and training.

Major General, Associate Professor, PhD. NGUYEN HUNG OANH, Principal of Political  College, Ministry of National Defence