The 3^rd Military Region’s Military School, which is one of the important schools in the military school system, is responsible for training and educating section commanders, battery captains; retraining technical cadres and officers; providing knowledge of defence and security for learners in the Region, etc. In recent years, the School’s tasks of training and education have been developed with the increasing number and diversity of learners and the higher requirements for education quality. Meanwhile, the School’s facilities for teaching and learning have been poorly equipped; cadres and teachers have yet to completely meet the demands for tasks; knowledge, ability and methods of managing and teaching of some cadres and teachers, especially the younger ones, have been limited; the School hasn’t got enough experienced teaching staff, especially the ones with combat experience, etc. Facing this situation and improving the quality of education and training to meet the demands and missions of building the Army and protecting the Homeland in the new situation, the School’s Party Committee and Board have synchronously and scientifically implemented many policies and solutions; among them, the improvement of cadres and teachers has been considered the main and thorough mission, which has been implemented with many effective and practical contents and solutions.

At first, the party committees and organisations at all levels enhance their leadership on improving the quality of cadres and teachers. This is the primarily important solution which has the core meaning and thorough orientation in improving the quality of the main human resources when implementing the key political task of the School. The reality has shown the important and indispensable roles of cadres and teachers for the improvement of education and training in general and the one of the School in particular. Bearing that in mind, the School’s Party Committee has issued the specialised resolution on building cadres and teachers to meet the new demands, focusing on improving the ability, knowledge, methods, working manners and real experience. On that basis, before each annual training season, based on the Training order by the Military Region, the requirements of the assigned tasks, the party committees and commands at all levels have clearly defined the targets, norms and solutions for each content and the requirements as well, built plans for implementation; in which, taking the improvement of cadres and teachers as an important target, at the same time, enhancing the education and grasp for the party committees and commands at all levels on the position, roles and required targets in order to make changes on the awareness, build the right responsibility for all party committees, party cells, leading cadres at all levels towards the targets of improving the knowledge, skills, methods, working manners and successfully accomplishing the assigned missions. To this end, the School’s Party Committee and Board have focused their leadership and direction on doing well the education and grasp of the Party’s viewpoints, guidelines and policies on personnel work; enhancing the studying and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and style and the Campaign of Promoting traditions, devoting talents, deserving to be “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” in the new era. The School has required all party committees and leading cadres to be the core of the unity among the party cells, offices, faculties and units; to be exemplary and typical on political quality, morality, living style and discipline observance; firmly struggle against the violations; practise thrift and prevent the waste and corruption. Meanwhile, the School has overcome difficulties, been active and creative in doing their duties and tasks; expressed their roles, responsibility, qualities and skills in all activities; built the scientific, democratic and disciplinary working methods and manners.

Teachers and learners of the school discuss their lesson

In order to improve the teachers’ knowledge and ability, the School has diversified the retraining forms and methods in its process of doing the education and training tasks and considered it as the regular and urgent duty. Based on the requirements, tasks and learners, annually, the School actively hold school-level training courses on each specific content. Accordingly, all training courses on methodology, updating new contents, disseminating the reality and combat experience, etc. have been continuously held. The School has selected cadres and teachers, invited scientists and leaders who have been qualified for their skills and knowledge, with appropriate experience and prestige in their real teachings to give lessons in each course. These courses have been strictly conducted, scientifically combined between the intensely theoretical training with groups’ practice, real sightseeing and the organisation of exact examinations and evaluation for each individual. This has created an active motivation for all learners and made sure the quality has been assured and met the defined demands.

The School has regularly maintained the order, discipline and regulations through the lessons at various levels, lesson attendance, lesson review and learning from experience; assigned experienced teachers to train and help new graduates and novices; regularly organised the training activities and on-site guidance, especially the pedagogical methods, foreign languages, information technology; heightened the awareness of self-study and research to improve the cadres and teachers’ ability. Accordingly, 100% teachers of the School have skillfully applied IT into composing their e-lesson plans and teaching; education managing cadres have effectively applied technology into all working stages of their offices and units. Every year, the School regularly holds contests and competitions for excellent teachers and managing cadres from the grassroots to the School level according to each specific subject, field and major. This is the real basis for the party committees and commands of offices, faculties and units not only to exactly grasp the quality but also make solutions to effectively overcome the shortcomings and weaknesses; create the ebullient atmosphere in studying and training for teachers and managers, making contribution to completing the knowledge, training to improve the ability, methods, working manners, the quality of cadres and teachers to meet the demands for education and training of the School in the new situation.

Together, the School’s Party Committee and Board have enhanced the standardisation of the staff due to the new requirements and missions. In order to carry out this important solution, together with sending cadres to military and civil educational institutions according to the defined targets, the School has focused on opening on-site training classes to accumulate certificates, gradually complete the standardised targets making them suitable with the regulations from the superiors and the School’s reality. Accordingly, the School’s Party Committee has checked and firmly grasped the quality of each cadre and teacher, especially the ones lacking standards in order to make drastic leadership, direction and specific plans on completing the standards for each person. At the same time, basing on the tasks in each period, the School has arranged the personnel scientifically and suitably with the reality, sent cadres and teachers to undertake the roles of leaders and commanders of units in the Region according to their majors so that they can learn, accumulate knowledge and real experience and improve their ability. With this suitable method, all cadres and teachers of the School have been standardised; presently, 0.35% cadres and teachers are doctors; 17.14% are masters and 76.78% are bachelors; specifically, 27.72% teachers are postgraduates and 67.32% are graduates. In 2022, the School balanced and arranged for 20 cadres and teachers to be trained and do their duties in units, which importantly contributed to the standardisation and improvement of staff and met the demands for missions in the new era.

Scientific research is an effective content and method to accumulate knowledge, improve the ability, especially the professional level; it is the most direct method to improve and self-improve because researchers need to spend time and effort searching and creating theories and practice, completing their researches and applying into reality in their mission implementation. Clearly understanding this, the School has recently paid special attention to enhancing the scientific research, focusing on improving the quality and effectiveness of all research products. The School’s Party Committee and Board have brought into play the roles of scientists, commanding cadres, people with experience on the School’s education and training, young and creative cadres approaching technology, etc. in discovering new problems of both theories and practice. As a result, they have built research topics, documents to develop and add to the system of materials for the School’s teaching and learning, suitably arranged groups of researchers and organised research, checking and taking procedure in the strict and scientific process. In order to improve the quality and effectiveness of the research products, the School has enhanced the investment in the materials and facilities, especially the means and document sources, at the same time, issued specific policies and regulations to support, encourage and mobilise cadres and teachers to take part in researching and applying the research products into reality. As a result, not only the scientific research in the School has developed but also the quality of research products has been improved, making contribution to the active changes in the quality of education and training of the School. In 2022, in the whole School, there were 33 research topics, initiatives, course books, documents and special subjects which have been appraised and accepted; including the Defence Ministry-level topic being excellent, the School gaining the 3^rd prize in the Contest of initiatives on innovating the training facilities among the military schools in the military regions, corps and Hanoi Capital Command.

These are achievements and reality experience for the School to continue to prove and apply suitably in the new conditions in order to continuously improve the quality of cadres and teachers in particular, the quality of education and training in general, meeting the demands for building the Army, strengthening the defence and protecting the Homeland in the new era.

Senior Colonel LUU PHONG THAO, the School’s Commissar