The political education in the Army generally, in the Naval Academy particularly is a component of the ideological work, and a basic part of the party and political work, which has a crucial position and role in directly equipping the scientific worldview, dialectical method, and communist belief; improving the political spirit; building the revolutionary soldiers’ qualities and personalities, all soldiers’ perception and responsibility for doing their tasks.

Thoroughly understanding the importance of the political education, in recent years, the Party Committee and Director Board of Naval Academy have paid much concern about it, making comprehensive, synchronous and effective leadership, direction and implementation with many practical, feasible policies and methods. Of which, improving the quality of political education is one of the contents which receives much attention combined with the propaganda, dissemination, education of law and the implementation of education and training regulations aiming to build the “revolutionary, regular, standardised, modern” Academy, develop the human resources for the Naval Service and the Army. Accordingly, the Academy has proactively renewed the education contents, structures and methods to be suitable with the reality, especially in the context of strong development of multimedia, internet, social networks, etc. which have had frequent and direct effect to soldiers’ thought in order to make direct contribution to building the contingent of cadres and lecturers who have stable political spirit and stance, high responsibility, become dedicated and connected with the career without any degradation of political thought, morality and lifestyle. It is also to improve the awareness and responsibility of cadets, helping them be motivated in their learning and training, proactively overcome difficulties to successfully accomplish the tasks on the training targets and demands.

The Academy’s Party Committee and Director Board have frequently concerned about the leadership and direction on the political education. Annually, based on the thorough grasp of resolutions and directives on the political education, especially Directive No. 2423-CT/QUTW, dated 09 November 2023 by the Central Military Commission’s Standing Committee on “Renovating and improving the quality of political education in the new period”; Project of “Renovating the education of social sciences and humanities in military schools” by the Ministry of National Defence; the Regulations in managing soldiers’ thought, holding and orienting the public opinion in the Vietnam People’s Army, etc., the Academy’s Party Committee concretises into their regular resolutions to lead the political education and apply harmoniously within the Academy. To have good results, the Academy’s Party Committee and Director Board directs the party committees, party organisations, offices, units and faculties to clearly define the targets, tasks, requirements, contents and methods, making them close to the reality and task requirements of their units; include in the regular resolutions to make focused leadership, concurrently, pays attention to reforming the leadership and direction by the party committees, the management by political commissars and commanders; raising the responsibility of cadres in their organising, managing and attending in the political education; brings into play the roles of political offices in their advising the Academy’s Party Committee and Director Board with leading contents and methods, timely discovers and overcomes difficulties to conduct the political education in a synchronous and harmonious way, at the same time, directs and instructs offices, units and faculties to strictly follow the educational programmes as scheduled; actively makes inspection and evaluation of learning results, the initial and total summaries, rewards and serious experience, taking the results of political education as a crucial criterium to evaluate the task accomplishment of organisations and individuals.

Naval Academy conducts traditional education for first-year cadets

In the face of the changes and development of the reality, the Academy has advocated actively renovating the contents, forms and methods of political education in the basic, modern, copious, lively, interesting and effective way. Accordingly, regarding the contents, the Academy combines the political education with improving the teaching quality of subjects of social sciences and humanities so that learners could thoroughly understand and grasp the scientific and revolutionary nature of Marxism-Leninism, Ho Chi Minh’s thought, the Party’s guidelines and viewpoints, the State’s policies and law; socialism and the way to socialism in Vietnam, viewpoints and policies of our Party and State on safeguarding the sovereignty over seas, islands of the fatherland, at the same time, enhances the research and compilation of textbooks, documents and topics on educating the traditions and qualities of “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers – Naval soldiers”; intensely educates the law, discipline, morality, lifestyle to soldiers, the will to overcome difficulties, and the pride of being naval soldiers; rekindles and brings into play the responsibility of cadres, lecturers, cadets and soldiers in the new era of the country, meeting the demands for building the “revolutionary, regular, highly-skilled, modernised” Vietnam People’s Army and Navy.

Offices, units and faculties have closely followed the real situations of the Academy to renew the political education, apply it creatively and suitably with learners, focusing on closely combining the basic education with regular education and education of social sciences and humanities; the common education with private education and on-duty education, especially in the difficult tasks at sea. Political education has been also conducted through the emulation movements and campaigns, cultural activities and performances, political - ideological activities, Day of Politics and spiritual culture, democratic dialogues, activities of public unions and soldier council. Several models have been effectively put into practice, including: “A law per day, a legal question per week”, “Psychological and legal counselling groups for soldiers”, “Uncle Ho’s teachings on this day in history”, “News in early morning”, “Models of 2-nos and 3-bests lecture halls”, “Party members guide candidates” and “Youth clubs of theories”. The quality of competitions of political rapporteurs, good lecturers of politics, and the Olympics of subjects of social sciences and humanities, etc. has been improved, contributing to the improved quality of political-ideological education. In their implementation, units have actively applied the digital transformation and artificial intelligence, built software to support the political education, creating the interest in learning politics, help to timely hold and manage the ideology; closely combined the political education with continuously promoting the learning and following of Ho Chi Minh’s thought, morality and lifestyle, and emulation movements, campaigns, etc. as well, creating a deep and wide spread within the Academy.

Together, the Academy has intensely given further training to improve the knowledge, pedagogical methods, political spirit and working style for lecturers and rapporteurs. The contingent of lecturers and rapporteurs which has been fully selected consists of political cadres and lecturers of Faculty of social sciences and humanities. They are the forces directly deciding the quality of political education. This contingent is required to own a stable political spirit, be exemplary in morality, lifestyle, working behaviours and methods; have enough knowledge, real experience, good pedagogical methods, high party nature and discipline; be democratic and thorough, walking the talk. The Academy’s Party Committee and Director Board have paid attention to training and encouraging this contingent to self-study and improve their qualifications and pedagogical competence, train their political quality, revolutionary morality, scientific working methods and styles, at the same time, directing all levels to focus on overcoming any limitations of lecture preparation, lesson approval and ratification; do the grading and draw experience after each lesson, considering these as important criteria to do the emulation and commendation assessment for collectives, lecturers and rapporteurs. Besides, the Academy has frequently organised further training sessions for lecturers and rapporteurs, contests and competitions; attached special importance to forms of teaching competition, teaching practice and teaching examination combined with guiding and orienting through examples and experience. Given that, all lecturers, rapporteurs and cadet managing cadres have been reinforced and improved with their pedagogical methods and styles, being able to well conduct the political education in the units.

Enhancing the regularity building, discipline training and building a healthy military cultural environment are contents and methods receiving much appreciation from the Academy. Accordingly, the Academy’s Party Committee and Director Board have directed offices and units to frequently maintain the routines and orders of regularity building, discipline training and emulation movements, etc. contributing to creating the regular and healthy cultural military environment. The Academy has enhanced the work of “forecasting, holding, managing, orienting and solving soldiers’ ideology”, hence, the party committees and commanders of offices, faculties and units have focused their leadership and direction on grasping and conducting all stages of the ideological management, firmly holding soldiers’ ideological development to make correct evaluation, practical classification, timely solve the arising problems, assuring the stability in their ideology, and creating the high agreement and harmony among cadres, lecturers, cadets and soldiers in the Academy. The Academy has decently maintained the routine of holding soldiers’ ideology through reports, meetings and reflection sessions; closely combined the ideological management with soldier management by regulations; frequently conducted the internal political protection, firmly held the personal profiles and strictly managed the staff in each unit; strictly implemented the Democratic Regulation at the grassroots, Day of Politics and spiritual culture, Day of Law; taken care of improving the material, spiritual life and families’ conditions for cadres, lecturers, cadets and soldiers, making contribution to building their pure and healthy lifestyle, a responsible lifestyle to themselves, their families and units; avoiding any indifference to their fellow comrades; feeling secure in the work, and managing to successfully accomplish all assigned tasks.

The results of political education in recent years have created a foundation for the Naval Academy to continue bringing into play the general power of all organisations and forces to endlessly improve the quality of education and training, and build the “revolutionary, regular, highly-skilled, modernised” Academy, meeting the task requirements in the new situation.

Rear Admiral NGUYEN HUU THOAN, Political Commissar of the Academy