Over the past few years, with the function as a military education and training center in the South, the Infantry Officers’ Training College No.2  (hereafter the School) has brought into full play its responsibility and solidarity to overcome all difficulties and gain important achievements. Annually, 100% of undergraduate cadets obtain satisfactory test results, over 90% of which are credit and distinction. In addition, 100% of postgraduate cadets finish their course with flying colors. There have been no cases of unqualified cadets and serious discipline violation. In recent years, the School’s missions have dramatically changed with both opportunities and difficulties due to new requirements of military building and national defense. Against that backdrop, the School has thoroughly grasped the resolutions and directives and made full use of all cadres and soldiers’ strength to fulfill the tasks. In particular, building the School in the direction of standardization and modernization has been set as one of the key tasks by the School Party Committee and Board of Directors with a lot of synchronous and effective measures.

Maj. Gen. Nguyen Ngoc Ca fastens the rank badges for the graduates

First of all, the School enhances the leadership of party committees, commanders at all levels over this important task. Based on the resolutions and directives of the Party, the Central Military Commission, the Ministry of National Defense, the Ministry of Education and Training, the School Party Committee issues the Resolution 20-NQ/ĐU on strengthening the leadership over education and training. The School also directs the implementation of the project on "standardization and modernization” with specifically scientific steps. These important directions are elaborated into leading resolutions and plans together with effective measures by party committees and commanders at all levels. In particular, the School spotlights the construction of departments, faculties, battalions and the renovation of education and training programs in the orientation to “standardization and modernization” to meet the task requirements. To this end, the School requires all committees and commands, especially key cadres to raise high awareness, determination as well as responsibility for the task and develop specific practical plans and measures. The top priority is given to building comprehensively strong Party committees in politics, ideology, organization and ethics together with improving their leadership capacity and the quality of realizing resolutions. Simultaneously, it takes the initiative to resolutely prevent distorted arguments and political, ethical and lifestyle degradation, internal "self-evolution", "self-transformation". Also, subjectivity, achievement addiction or education and training underestimation are promptly excluded. Thanks to that, the School has made significant breakthroughs in all aspects as well as promoted the role of organizations and forces in building comprehensively strong Party Committees and a gradually regular and modern school.

At the same time, the School attaches importance to "standardizing" the contingent of lecturers, which is considered the crucial factor of building a standard and modern school. Accordingly, agencies and units pay attention to training cadres and improving the efficiency in management of cadres and lecturers on grounds of professional skills, foreign languages and physical strength. In the course of implementation, the School directs the committees at all levels to correctly evaluate the quality of cadres and lecturers as the basis for cadre planning so as to meet short-term and long-term mission requirements. Besides, qualified cadres are encouraged to study for the titles of associate professors and excellent teachers, etc. So far, the School has owned 24 associate professors, 84 doctors and 485 masters. 58.38% of lecturers are postgraduates with 63 doctors, 14 associate professors and 327 masters. In the school year 2017 - 2018 alone, there are 29 excellent teachers at school level, 69 at the grassroots level and 10 excellent cadres. Along with its own training, the School actively arranges cadres to work in the grassroots units to accumulate experience or send them to other universities and overseas for further professional qualifications. Over the past years, the School has flexibly fostered cadre resources by selecting qualified graduates from military schools and academies to train as lecturers and put them into cadre planning sources. In order to improve cadres and lecturers’ quality, party committees and leaders, in their authorization, are required to manage this staff in terms of political quality, professional capacity and personal relationships strictly and effectively. The "standardization" of titles and appropriate use of cadres and lecturers are promoted as an encouragement to them. The process of evaluating, appointing and employing cadres and lecturers is strictly and accurately addressed. The School also tightly excludes the cadres and the lecturers having violated discipline without any improvement. Up to now, its staff has been built firmly, rationally, and gradually "standardized", meeting the requirements of education and training.

River crossing

In line with the "standardization" of cadres and lecturers, the School focuses on improving the quality of cadets not only in enrolment step but also in education and training process. This is one of the highlights, which is specifically grasped and strictly, effectively implemented by party committees and commands at all levels. Accordingly, the School closely cooperates with localities and units in taking full steps transparently and democratically in military enrolment, ensuring both quantity and quality. Moreover, it carefully accelerates pre-qualifying process including candidates’ profile, personal relationships and ethics evaluation. Concurrently, it directs the military enrolment strictly according to the procedures of the Ministry of National Defense and the Ministry of Education and Training, while resolutely precluding all negative manifestations. On the basis of improving the military enrolment quality, the School attaches great importance to strict regularity maintenance, discipline management and training for sub-unit cadets. In addition, the training contents and programs keep being standardized in accordance with for each profession. Taken together, exams and assessment regulations are rigidly applied. The School Party Committee and Board of Directors order all levels to strictly comply with inspection and re-examination procedures, persistently denying negative phenomena in examinations and achievement addiction in education. Any cheating in exams and tests is stringently handled in order to shape a healthy pedagogical environment, ensuring teaching and learning quality for teachers and cadets. Therefore, over the past years, the quality of cadets has been improved. The graduates can take on their tasks, being highly appreciated in grassroots units. Many of them are in charge of important appointments inside and outside the army.

In order to meet the requirements of standardization and modernization, the School strengthens scientific research and technology application to the task performance. For the sake of their effectiveness, the School has developed appropriate policies to encourage everyone to conduct scientific research in the direction of "focalization, practicality and efficiency". Both cadres and cadets are promoted to regularly take initiatives and creativeness in scientific research. At the same time, it works closely with academies, schools and scientific agencies inside and outside the army to exchange and expand cooperation in this field, especially the studies on national defense and security.

The plan to "standardize and modernize" the School is also conducted in terms of making investment in modern and synchronous infrastructure, teaching and learning facilities. The focus is given to expanding specialized classrooms, renovating drill grounds and field sports. In particular, attention is paid to the construction and installation of modern equipment at the simulation center to improve the training capacity and practice with the actual combat situations. Besides, the investment in modern equipment is combined with the emulation movements of information technology application, innovation promotion and learning tools improvement. Teachers are also encouraged to effectively exploit and use tools, information technology and digital media in teaching and doing scientific research. In addition, the School actively upgrades information system, the digital library, curriculum and materials. It also asks for new weapons, military hardware and technical equipment to meet the teaching and learning requirements.

The achievements in making the Infantry Officers’ Training College No.2 "standard and modern" lay a solid foundation for its successful completion of education and training task, contributing to the course of military construction, national defense and Motherland protection in the new situation.

Maj. Gen., Associate Professor Nguyen Ngoc Ca, PhD Head of the Infantry Officers’ Training College No.2