Cultivation of national defence and security knowledge at the National Defence Academy (NDA) plays a significant role in raising awareness of state management of national defence and security for high-ranking cadres of the Party, State and unions (hereinafter referred to as No.1 learners). On deeply perceiving this importance and performing its functions and assigned tasks, over the past few years, the NDA has proactively collaborated with relevant agencies of the Party and Government, especially the Central Organisation Commission, Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Public Security, etc., to develop training plans, contents, programmes and successfully held 79 training courses for 4,775 learners (213 members of the Party Central Committee and 239 deputies to the National Assembly), contributing to promoting awareness, responsibility and leadership in directing socio-economic development in connection with strengthening national defence and security, building potential of provincial, municipal defence zones, and linking the establishment of strong national defence and national defence posture to people’s security posture in each locality and nationwide. However, there remain some cadres who fail to comprehend deeply this work during their leadership. The realisation of this task has not been really consistent with the Constitution and law, thus leading to loss of assets of the State and people, accidently assisting political opportunists and reactionaries in sowing division between people and the Party.

It is within the context of complex developments in the world and region that hostile forces continue to speed up strategy of “peaceful evolution,” incite “self-evolution” and “self-transformation,” call for “depoliticisation” of the armed forces and removal of the Party’s leadership, derailing the cause of national construction and protection towards socialism. This reality presents increasingly high demands on national defence and security mission to firmly safeguard independence, sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of the Homeland, the Party, State, people, and socialist regime. Consequently, to enhance quality of cultivating the No.1 learners’ knowledge of national defence and security to enable them to act in good faith and to be qualified for advising the Party and State on policies and guidelines on national defence, security, national building and protection in the new situation requires the NDA Party Committee and Board of Directors to successfully implement the following measures.

Learners of defence and security course visit the traditional house of NDA

First, continuing to improve objectives, programmes and contents of national defence and security education to suit all learners’ needs. Accordingly, the NDA focuses on making the learners firmly grasp standpoints, guidelines and policies of the Party and State on national defence, security, diplomacy, and socio-economic development strategy, particularly Resolution No. 28-NQ/TW dated October 25, 2013 of the Party Central Committee (11^th tenure) on Strategy to Safeguard the Homeland in the New Situation, National Defence Strategy, Military Strategy, Strategy to Safeguard National Security, and Strategy to Safeguard the Homeland in Cyberspace while elucidating the principle of Party leadership and State management of  national defence and security in the process of accelerating industrialisation and modernisation of the country. Besides, it seeks to raise the learners’ awareness of nature and plots of hostile forces and reactionaries against Vietnamese revolution; fundamental issues regarding national security strategies of countries relating to national defence and security of our country; general understanding of Viet Nam’s military art and the strength to defend the Homeland, which is the overall power of the great national unity and the whole political system under the Party’s leadership, the combination of overall national power with power of the times and power of all forces as well as the close connection between the all-people national defence posture and the people’s security posture with the people’s “hearts-and-minds” posture as the core.

Aligning theory with practice requires the NDA to closely follow developments of situation in the world, region and country to adjust, supplement and improve programmes and contents of national defence and security education to ensure firm maintenance and consolidation of the Party’s absolute, direct leadership in every aspect over the cause of national construction and defence; steadfastness in the goal of national independence in connection with socialism; firm maintenance of a peaceful, stable environment conducive for socio-economic development; and close combination of the two strategic tasks in the new situation, i.e. national building and protection. On the basis of research projects and experience over 20 years of national defence and security education, the NDA Party Committee and Board of Directors give instructions on adjustment of training programmes and contents to suit learners’ needs, enabling them to get better knowledge of national defence, security and military and creatively apply this knowledge to practice according to their duties and working positions; thoroughly comprehend the situations; improve quality of prediction to early detect factors that may have sudden, adverse effects on national defence and security; and proactively propose timely prevention and response.

Second, improving quality of teaching and learning, combining cultivation of national defence and security knowledge with summarisation of practice and theoretical research. The NDA selects and assign cadres and lecturers with professional knowledge, practical experience, and good teaching skills to deliver lessons in national defence and security training courses. It also requests its cadres and lecturers to study and firmly grasp standpoints and guidelines of the Party and the State’s policies on national defence and security, on combining socio-economic development with strengthening national defence and security, especially the Strategy to Safeguard the Homeland in the New Situation, National Defence Strategy, Military Strategy, etc., and regularly update them on latest knowledge and information about defence, security science, foreign military, and realities of executing national defence and security missions in units and localities to ensure profound theory and evidence-rich practice for special subjects. Moreover, it is necessary to actively apply achievements of the Fourth Industrialisation Revolution and advanced education and training methodologies to the cultivation of national defence and security knowledge. The Academy also attaches importance to inviting high-ranking cadres of the Party, State, central commissions, ministries, agencies, and the armed forces to talk about special subjects with a high degree of strategic guidance.

Apart from theoretical research, the Academy also sends its learners to military units which are invested to advance straight to modernity and typical models of aligning socio-economic development with strengthening national defence, security, defence infrastructure, etc., facilitating learners’ better understanding of practical experience, socio-economic development situation in localities and businesses, and operations of the armed forces in defence zones and strategic areas of the country. In addition, the Academy encourages its learners to participate in practical summarisation and theoretical development regarding national defence and security with the aim of promoting their knowledge of national defence and security, ability to correctly foresight situations and advise the Party and State on policies regarding socio-economic development in connection with strengthening national defence and security, proactively hedging and working out suitable measures to defend the Homeland from far ahead.

Third, bringing into play learners’ proactiveness, activeness, and creativeness. In fact, duration of training courses is short, and learners are exposed to a vast amount of new knowledge. In the meantime, learners, who are key cadres of committees, ministries, and agencies at the central, local level and armed forces, are remarkably busy with their jobs. Therefore, the Academy requests them to work out their own plans to arrange for study at the academy. It also attaches importance to developing lessons close to realities of national defence and security missions of the country; stepping up practising operating mechianisms in states of national defence and responding to situations resembling real scenarios such as “actions of Party’s organs and provincial, municipal authorities to transform their localities into states of emergency in terms of national defence and security,” “response to riots, subversion, and armed protest,” etc., with a view to encouraging learners to conduct research, exchange, discuss, and share experience and best practice of their units and localities, thereby fostering their working competencies and methodologies, ability to appreciate and deal with national defence and security situations as well as advise and propose solutions at each committee, ministry, sector, and locality.

Fourth, seriously evaluating results, regularly conducting preliminary summing-up and summarisation, improving the effectiveness of cultivating national defence and security knowledge. The NDA requests its learners to write essays to correctly assess their learning results. Contents of essays concentrate on issues close to working realities at committees, ministries, sectors, and localities such as combination of socio-economic development with national defence and security consolidation, state management of national defence and security, experience in responding to flashpoints, and so on. Attention is paid to proposing viable resolutions on socio-economic development in connection with strengthening national defence, security, national building, and protection. The Academy considers this an invaluable source of information to enhance quality of national defence and security education for future courses.

Additionally, the Academy regularly conduct preliminary summing-up and summarisation to draw experience after each course; carry out surveys at committees, ministries and agencies at central and local levels to adjust training programmes, contents and methods of teaching and learning; and assess the effectiveness of cultivating national defence and security knowledge by means of learners’ performance in leadership and state management of national defence and security. On the basis of this assessment, the Academy will advise the Central Council of National Defence and Security Education on solutions to enhance quality of national defence and security education, collaborate with relevant agencies to develop plans and hold annual training courses to ensure unity and effectiveness, contributing to strictly implementing regulations of the Party on promotion of cadres.

Successful completion of the aforementioned contents and solutions will serve to enhance quality of national defence and security education at the National Defence Academy, contributing to raising awareness and responsibility of key cadres of committees, ministries and agencies at the central and local levels for leading and instructing execution of national defence and security missions, building of strong all-people national defence and people’s security, and accomplisment of the two strategic tasks in the new situation.

Major General Dao Tuan Anh, Deputy Rector of the National Defence Academy