Political education is a fundamental form of ideological, cultural work and key to strengthening the Party’s ideological fortification in the military. It is also the factor which helps to ensure that the military is always a political force and an absolutely faithful, trustworthy combat force of the Party, State, and people. On the basis of deeply grasping the Party’s viewpoints on building a revolutionary, regular, elite, gradually modern People’s Army with some services, arms, and forces advancing straight to modernity, on March 31^st, 2011, the Central Military Commission’s Standing Committee issued Directive No. 124-CT/QUTW on strengthening leadership of political education in units in the new period. The Minister of National Defence promulgated Decision No. 2677/QD-BQP, approving the Project on “reforming political education in units in the new period” (hereinafter referred to as Directive 124 and Project respectively). These are basic and breakthrough directions which bring about new transformation in implementing political education in the entire military.

Given effort and high resolution in execution, the political education work has contributed to building of a politically strong People’s Army, which provides a solid foundation for enhancing its overall quality and combat power. Cadres and soldiers in the entire military are always steadfast in Marxism-Leninism and Ho Chi Minh’s thought, absolutely believe in the Party’s leadership, have a strong attachment to people, try their best to train well and strictly abide by discipline, surmount all difficulties and hardships, are ready to undertake and accomplish their assigned tasks successfully, and continue to beautify and spread images and fine dignity of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” in the new era.

General Trinh Van Quyet visits exhibition on political eduation in the Military (Photo credit: VNA)

Currently, our people’s cause of safeguarding the Fatherland takes place in the context of complex, unforeseeable global and regional developments. Strategic competition between major powers, local conflicts, the East Sea issue, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, knowledge-based economy, digital economy, drastic sabotage of hostile forces, etc., have been making multidimensional impacts on the process of military building and national defence fortification. More importantly, the process of building an adept, compact, strong military advancing towards modernity will have significant influence on feelings and sentiment of cadres and soldiers. Those situations require departments and units in the entire military to continue to bring into play outcomes and experience in the implementation of the Directive 124 and Project, focusing on reforming and further enhancing quality and effectiveness of political education in units by means of many synchronous solutions, especially the followings.

First, it is necessary to strengthen leadership and direction of party committees, commissars, commanders, and political departments at all levels towards enhanced quality and effectiveness of political education. Political education is a vital solution to the building of a politically strong military. Therefore, strengthening of the Party’s leadership and direction, directly those of party committees, party organisations, and leading cadres at all echelons, of this work is the deciding factor in the success of building a politically strong military. The party committees, party organisations, commissars, commanders, and political departments at all echelons must deeply grasp the goal, significance, position, and role of political education. This is a pivotal way which helps to create consensus about political awareness, foster the nature of the working class, humanism, and nationalism within the revolutionary military, and enhance quality and competence of cadres and soldiers. Consequently, departments and units must continue to perceive and seriously carry out resolutions, directives, conclusions, instructions, and regulations of the Party, Central Military Commissions (CMC), and General Political Department (GPD) on political and ideological education. They are required to work out measures to lead and direct this work in a timely and effective manner. Commissars at all echelons need to proactively collaborate with commanders and political departments on developing and implementing annual political education plans.

Second, political education contents, forms, and methods are to be reformed in order to raise quality and effectiveness of political, ideological education in the new situation. Political education for cadres and soldiers in the context of swift evolution of global, regional situations and new developments of national construction and building is of significant importance currently. It requires constant reform of contents, forms, and methods to do this crucial work. Practical execution of Directive 124 and Project over the past few years has shown that only by active reform of contents, forms, and methods can political education be successful and vice versa. Thus, reform of political education contents must be further enhanced but in a close manner and with focuses. In the short run, the reform needs to aim at new issues and further clarify the scientific, revolutionary nature of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s thought, guidelines and viewpoints of the Party, policies and law of the State, socialism, and the road to socialism in Viet Nam. Moreover, importance should be attached to research and development of contents about patriotic tradition, solidarity, and comradeship as well as education about law, discipline, morality, and life style for military personnel, especially the young ones. It is important to explain problems arising from practical realisation of national construction and defence, military building, military and defence tasks, and economic, cultural, social development; mobilisation of human, material resources for safeguarding the Fatherland; our organisation, staffing, equipment, and combat methods.

Third, constant attention must be paid to enhanced quality of cadres undertaking political education at all levels. Today, facing adverse effects of the market mechanism and drastic sabotage of hostile forces, increased quality and competence of cadres in general, political cadres in particular, not only satisfy requirements of building a politically strong military but also have a direct influence on promoting quality and effectiveness of political education in the entire military. Military academies and schools, therefore, need to perceive that reform and enhanced quality training of the political cadres at all echelons are fundamental, long-term task, ensuring cadres’ comprehensive knowledge and skills and high responsibility. Additionally, there is a need to develop a corps of teachers and lecturers of social sciences and humanities with sufficient quantity, synchronous structure, increasingly high quality, capability to meet requirements of political education in the new situation.

Every year, departments and units need to closely lead and instruct formulation of training plans to promote comprehensive knowledge and skills of cadres in general and those in charge of political education work in particular, especially the political teaching cadres and speakers in units. Attention should be paid to cultivation of skills and methodologies. It is necessary to closely combine on-site training with training at academies and schools; seriously comply with training regulations and plans, procedures for lesson approval as stipulated by the Regulation on political education in units; successfully carry out competitions and teaching festivals for political education cadres at all levels; regularly encourage and create favourable conditions for political education cadres to study, train, and improve their knowledge and skills in every aspect. Those who are qualified can enroll in postgraduate courses.

Fourth, enhancing the quality of testing and evaluating political education results. Party committees, leading cadres, and political departments at the grassroots level need to firmly grasp contents of the Regulation on political education in units in order to apply to practice properly. Of note, the testing and assessment must be carried out seriously, closely, and in line with existing regulations, ensuring objectivity, accuracy, and resolution to refrain from credit-driven practice in education. To achieve effectiveness, departments and units must attach importance to renew forms and methods to test and assess results; associate political awareness inspection with task performance. In the current context, the inspection must aim to assess cadres’ ability to apply knowledge to practical military activities, responses to situations, and management of soldiers’ ideological evolution, especially the adverse impact of situations and stern sabotage of hostile forces on social networks.

Fifth, there is a need to provide good material support and leverage the overall strength of organisations and forces. Levels must lead and direct effective management and use of their budgets in accordance with regulations. Apart from the budgets allocated by the higher echelons, units must preserve, exploit, and use the existing material infrastructure effectively. Houses of culture, libraries, traditional houses, Ho Chi Minh’s rooms, local historical monuments, etc., are to be brought into play in order to transmit spiritual cultural values to cadres and soldiers. Units should tap into their creativeness, ability to surmount difficulties, and initiative in making the most of resources in order to upgrade technical equipment, coursebooks, teaching materials, etc., ensuring increasingly better support for political education work. They are also requested to apply advances in modern technical science and digital technology to political education; cooperate closely with forces participating in political education; refrain from relying on the higher echelons, or leaving public assets in a state of malfunction, loss, and misuse. Additionally, units should bring into play the overall strength of organisations and forces in localities where they are stationed in order to successfully fulfil their functions and missions, contributing to enhanced quality and effectiveness of political education for cadres and members of unions and associations.

Political education work is a vital element of the party work and political work. It aims to develop revolutionary military personnel, who are “absolutely faithful to the Party and dedicated to people”, and build pure, strong party organisations in the military. Reform and increased quality and effectiveness of political education are both short- and long-term regular demands and responsibility of all organisations and forces. In the face of requirements and missions of safeguarding the Fatherland and building the People’s Army in the new situations, departments and units need to focus leadership of implementing solutions to reform and enhanced quality and effectiveness of political education, which contributes to the building of a politically strong military with increased overall power, combat strength, and capability to fulfil the mission of protecting the socialist Vietnamese Fatherland in any situations.   

Senior Lieutenant General TRINH VAN QUYET, Member of the Party Central Committee, Member of the Central Military Commission, Deputy Chief of the General Political Department, Vietnam People’s Army