Accelerating defence and security education for students in general is a major policy of the Party and the State. This is also the central task that the Defence and Security Education Centre of Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2 concentrates on leading and directing with multiple synchronous and appropriate measures including the renewal of teaching forms and methods which have been valued and earned fruitful outcomes.

The Defence and Security Education Centre of Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2 (hereafter called the Centre) is tasked with educating the University’s students in defence and security and other associate schools’ in accordance with Joint Circular No. 123/2015/TTLT-BQP-BGDĐT-BLĐTBXH issued on November 5^th, 2015 by the Ministry of National Defence (MND), the Ministry of Education and Training (MoET), Ministry of Labour, War Invalid, and Social Affairs on “Stipulating the organisation and operation of defence and security education centres; associating colleges and tertiary institutions”; Decision No. 2861/QĐ-BQP issued on August 24^th, 2021 by MND on “Adjusting and supplementing lists of associating defence and security education”. In recent years, performing the fundamental and comprehensive renewal of education and training in accordance with Resolution No. 29-NQ/TW issued on November 4th, 2013 by the Central Party Committee (11^th tenure), MoET has proactively promulgated circulars on stipulating contents, curricula of education and security for students; the latest is Circular No. 05/TT-BGDĐT issued on March 18^th, 2020 on Defence and Security Curriculum in intermediate pedagogical schools, pedagogical colleges, and tertiary institutions. In particular, Circular No. 05/TT-BGDĐT has supplemented and updated new knowledge and specialised topics; changed the duration of teaching modules; thereby increasing practice and declining theory. However, due to different causes such as the lack of coursebooks and printed documents, students have to download documents from the Internet, which adversely influences their learning autonomy. Besides, the Covid-19 pandemic also has a tremendous impact on educating associate schools. To cope with the difficulties and challenges and accomplish all assigned tasks, the Centre has synchronously implemented multiple measures; in which, renewing teaching forms and methods, forming and developing necessary military thinking and skills are the leading measure.

Students practise manoeuvre skills at the centre

First and foremost, the Centre has strengthened the leadership and direction of party committees and the Board of Rectors and particularly adopted new teaching forms and methods as the central task. To that end, the Centre has fully popularised the Law on Defence and Security Education as well as the objectives and contents of Circular No. 05/TT-BGDĐT and higher echelon’s documents and instructions for all cadres and lecturers. At the same time, the Centre has also directed its Training Department and faculties to actively design detailed lecture outlines, complete all modules; select, supplement new contents and upload them onto the website of the Centre. The party committees and presiding cadres, contingent of cadres and lecturers have promoted the popularisation and education so that the students can be aware of the necessity to renew learning methods, especially learning autonomy to promptly make comments to lectures on their teaching. Besides, the Centre has required its cadres to regularly popularise and instruct the students to effectively use the source of documents on the website, strengthen management, maintain self-study after class, and answer the students’ questions.

During the spread of the Covid-19 pandemic, with the motto “not going to the Centre but not missing out defence and security education”, the Centre directed its faculties to design lectures for online classes; functional agencies to coordinate with associate schools to design flexible learning plans, organise theoretical lectures online for freshmen. Until the pandemic was controlled, in-person classes were organised with practice contents to forge necessary military skills, form military lifestyles, and ensure the fulfilment of the curricula. The Centre’s creative application ensures the combination of online and in-person classes in accordance with the level of the pandemic and successfully deals with the remaining students of associate schools.

Being fully aware of the vital roles of the contingent of cadres and lecturers in renewing teaching forms and methods, the Centre has attached importance to training the contingent of cadres and lecturers. Accordingly, the Centre has selected and sent its cadres and lecturers to training courses organised by MoET, which is the foundation to organise training for the remaining cadres and lecturers; the focus is on the contents, newly-added thematic subjects, and changes in the duration of theory and practice time. The faculties have unified the contents of each lecture and chosen appropriate teaching methods for the uniform implementation within the Centre.

To organise and improve the quality of online classes, the Centre has proactively sent its cadres and lecturers to training courses on using learning management systems such as Google Classroom, Google Meet, LMS, etc organised by the Centre. At the same time, the Centre has also invited caders from the Information Technology Institute to train and instruct the cadres and lecturers in mastering learning management systems. Since several cadres and lecturers are incompetent to work online, the Centre has attached importance to training young cadres with the ability in information technology to instruct the others and achieve uniformity within the Centre. Besides, the Centre has also directed Military Faculty and Political Faculty to  train each other so that all lecturers can take on teaching all of the contents and thematic subjects; and invite retired cadres and lecturers to participate in teaching to deal with the lack of lecturers.

Additionally, the Centre has required the contingent of lecturers to bring into play their roles and sense of responsibility in researching, keeping track of contents and curricula, and adjusting teaching duration in accordance with Circular No. 05/TT-BGDĐT, especially the contents that have been updated, adjusted, added, or omitted. Before teaching, lecturers must prepare teaching contents, compile assigned lessons, and actively search for information, documentaries, and documents about our forefathers’ resistance wars, especially the resistance wars against French Colonists and American Imperialists to demonstrate and appeal to learners. The faculties must organise lesson ratification, trial lessons, and teaching review as stipulated. In classes, lecturers must master their classes, create an open and friendly atmosphere, proactively handle pedagogic situations; make use of previous experience, and actively renew and apply active teaching methods with appropriate contents, curricula, and duration. At the same time, lecturers must promote interaction and contact with reality, raise issues for discussion to perfect the lessons, orient the core contents, and instruct learners to achieve high results. Particularly, the Centre has boldly assigned cadets specialised in defence and security education as platoon commanders to directly maintain the practice and extra-curricular activities. This effective method assists students to familiarise themselves with the practice contents and formulate military skills. It also provides cadets specialised in defence and security education an opportunity to “practise management work and listening for the practice of teaching” right from the first year instead of the third year as before.

Additionally, the Centre has attached importance to the full assurance of facilities for teaching and learning. Over the past years, the Centre has employed numerous measures for enhancing equipment and building databases for the lecturers to access, research, and apply tools and new contents to teaching. The Centre has focused on purchasing new technical devices and modernised teaching and learning methods. Besides, it is necessary to contact and propose the Vietnam Militia and Self-Defence Force (the General Staff) and the High Command of Hanoi Capital to ensure more weapons, equipment, and facilities to serve for the lecturers’ teaching and learner’s practice. After the control of the Covid-19 pandemic, a substantial number of students which has been over 3000 students has led to the Centre’s proposal to the University’s Board of Rectors in coordinating with the vocational colleges in localtity to ensure the progress, amount of time, contents and curricula for teaching.

Thanks to the drastic and synchronous implementation of the aforementioned measures, the renewal of teaching forms and methods has produced practical outcomes. In the 2020-2021 academic years alone, the Centre has organised courses in defence and security education and certified nearly 37,000 students; 92.5% of whom achieved good and very good results and were acknowledged by the Standing Agency of the Defence and Security Education Council and other associate schools. Bringing into play the achieved outcomes and experience, the Defence and Security Education Centre of the Hanoi Pedagogical University No.2 will keep track of the development and practical requirements to accelerate the renewal of teaching forms and methods, enhance the quality of defence and security education, and contribute to victoriously accomplishing the cause of constructing and safeguarding the Fatherland.

Senior Colonel, Dr. PHAN XUAN DUNG, Vice Rector of the Defence and Security Education Centre