Political Academy is one of the army and State’s leading education and training centres of political and military social sciences and humanities cadres. Grasping the Resolution No.26-NQ/TW (12^th tenure) on “Focusing on building a contingent of all-level cadres, especially strategic level ones with sufficient virtue, capability, and prestige on a par with their assigned tasks”, the Director Board of Political Academy (hereafter the Academy) has concentrated its leadership and direction on synchronously implementing solutions in order to build a contingent of cadres and lecturers to meet the resolution’s requirements.

The Conference on studying and implementing the resolutions of the 12th Party Central Committee’s 7th Plenum held by the Academy’s Party Executive Committee

Personnel and personnel work have always acted as the determinant to the revolution’s success, the “key” phase of the “key” task and the “root of all work”. For educational institutions, “if there is no teacher, there is no education”. Being fully aware of this matter and thoroughly grasping the views of the Party and Military Party Central Commission on personnel work, over the past years, the Academy’s Party Committee and Director Board have had many policies and measures for concentrating the leadership and direction on the building of commanders and managerial cadres with that of lecturers and scientific cadres in a comprehensive manner. To date, the quantity of the Academy’s cadres and lecturers has been basically sufficient with a relatively appropriate structure. Many faculties have already prepared their personnel resources. The proportion of cadres fulfilling their tasks well and excellently has witnessed a gradual increase. 100% of the Academy’s cadres and lecturers held bachelor’s degree and above; 63,26% of them held postgraduate degree while 22,27% of them were recognized with the titles of professor, associate professor, doctor, people’s lecturer and meritorious lecturer. This is a high quality human resource meeting the Academy’s task requirements for education and training in both short and long terms and contributing to building a pool of political cadres, lecturers and military social sciences and humanities personnel as the core force in building the politically strong Army and upholding and enhancing Party’s absolute and direct leadership over the Military.

The building of the politically strong Army to meet today’s military, national defense and Fatherland protection tasks requires new developments in the Academy’s work of education and training, scientific research, and ideological and theoretical struggle in terms of training scale, type, and object. Meanwhile, compared with the objectives, requirements and criteria for standardizing the Academy’s contingent of cadres and lecturers, there have exposed a number of limitations and inadequacies. Specifically, the structure and age gap of cadres have not been appropriate at times; the resource of next generation cadres and lecturers with experience in teaching, scientific research, leadership, management and command at all levels has been scarce; the contingent of talented lecturers and scientists with high prestige on the national and international scales has yet to be developed; the qualifications, capabilities, and especially in field experience, foreign languages, information technology, pedagogical skills among some cadres and lecturers have been still limited. The afore-mentioned situation requires the Academy to continue synchronously executing solutions on building the contingent of cadres and lecturers on a par with its mission. Accordingly, the solution of implementing the Resolution 26-NQ/TW (12^th tenure) plays the most fundamental and decisive role. In order to achieve the effectiveness, the Academy’s Party Committee and Director Board concentrate on well implementing the following basic solutions.

Maj. Gen. Nguyen Van Bao addressing the Closing Ceremony of 2017-2018 School Year

First, continuously raising awareness and responsibility of organisations and forces, first and foremost of party committees and key cadres at all levels in building up the contingent of cadres and lecturers. The organs, units and faculties promote the propaganda and education and stringently organise training courses to make every cadre and party member thoroughly understand the viewpoints defined in the Resolution 26-NQ/TW (12^th tenure). In this regard, it is vital to be aware that personnel are the determinant to the success of the revolution, and that personnel work is the key factor in building Party and political system. Strictly and consistently applying the principle of Party’s direct and comprehensive leadership over the personnel work and personnel management as well as building the contingent of cadres are the responsibility of entire political system, particularly the party committees and organizations, first and foremost commanders and Party’s advisory bodies. After thoroughly studying the Resolution, the agencies and units require cadres and party members to write achievement papers, taking the result as a criterion for evaluating the task performance of each individual and unit in the year 2018. The Academy’s Party Committee and Director Board request all-level party committees and organizations to continuously grasp and carry out the objectives, requirements and major solutions of building the contingent of cadres and lecturers in the 2016-2020 period, thus bringing about a sense of unity and heightening responsibility in leadership, direction and implementation.

Second, actively reforming the work of cadre and lecturer management, planning, evaluation and use. To that end, the Party committees and commandants of organs and units should renovate their thinking and awareness of this task under the motto of “changeable” and “open”. It is required to perform proper management decentralization, ensuring the synchronization from inferior to superior levels under the focused and unified leadership and direction of the Academy’s Standing Committee and Party Committee and the guidance of functional agencies. It is necessary to closely combine personnel management with party member management both at work and in places of residence. The steps in the personnel work must be stringently carried out, ensuring right procedure and regular position titles with appropriate application on a case-by-case basis. In which, the emphasis is placed on the age criterion, bravely including young qualified cadres in the contingent of all-level leadership and management personnel to be appointed to higher positions. In personnel evaluation, the principles of democratic centralism and collective leadership should be strictly followed and coupled with the promotion of the role and responsibility of commanders, ensuring impartiality, objectivity and democracy. The personnel evaluation and appraisal should be in the direction of expanding the participants. Specifically, there is the combination of party committees’ evaluation, individuals’ self-assessment with the appraisal of mass organizations and party committees at cadres’ residence. Those who have insufficient competence and fail to fulfill their tasks with low prestige should be appropriately rearranged and opportunely replaced. The cadres not satisfying the criteria need to be resolutely put out of the personnel planning. At the same time, it is necessary to formulate and perfect the regulations on dismissal and exemption so that the issues of “promotion versus demotion” and “recruitment versus dismissal” become normal in personnel work, ensuring the generality, succession, continuity and stability in building the contingent of the Academy’ cadres and lecturers.

Thirdly, continuing to make the contingent of cadres and lecturers sufficient in quantity term with an appropriate structure and step by step standardizing the criteria of titles of cadres and lecturers across the Academy. Focuses should be placed on building a contingent of all-level leaders, managers and commanders with steadfast political willpower, pure ethical qualities, good qualifications, knowledge, and capabilities in teaching, scientific research, command, and organization as well as sufficient criteria and prestige to be elected to their corresponding party committees and superior ones. These cadres should stringently abide by the democratic centralism principle with senses of discipline and solidarity and good working methods and manners. Furthermore, due regard should be paid to closely combining the building of key cadres with the development of the contingent of scientists and lecturers. The cadres with scientific titles, practical experience and deep professional knowledge need to be employed while young cadres should be handpicked to that contingent, ensuring the continuous and stable development. The Academy needs to address the issue on the quantity of cadres and gradually build and strengthen the contingent of cadres and lecturers in a balanced and rational structure. The regulations on the norms of titles and criteria for evaluation and classification of cadres in the Army must be closely followed in order to standardize the criteria and titles of cadres and lecturers in line with the Academy’s particularities. Due attention should be paid to specific conditions and standards of political qualities, ethics, lifestyles, academic degree, pedagogical skills, foreign language proficiency, information technology skills, political theoretical capacity, working styles and methods, etc. The Academy strives to have a sufficient number of cadres and lecturers by 2020 with the reserve force of 10% to 15% for lectures and scientific cadres. In particular, 70% to 80% of lecturers and scientists are expected to hold postgraduate qualifications, more than 40% of them are professors, associate professors and doctors. On a yearly basis, 10% - 15% of lecturers are awarded the title of good lecturer at Academy level and ministerial level; 100% of lecturers fulfill and surpass the norms of teaching and scientific research, over 85% of them (90% for key cadres) well fulfill their tasks.

Fourth, raising the overall quality of the contingent of cadres and lectures. Thoroughly grasping the Resolution 769-NQ/QUTW on training, cultivating and building the contingent of cadres in the new period, the Academy shall continue to formulate, supplement and perfect the personnel training plan on a fundamental, comprehensive, intensive basis in line with the cadre planning and use at all levels. Great importance need to be attached to comprehensive training in terms of political willpower, moral quality, lifestyle, educational level, practical capacity and experience, and working style and method. The Academy should both improve cadres’ educational level towards titles, especially at postgraduate level and enhance its staff’s practical experience in teaching, scientific research and management. Various forms and measures for education and training must be synchronously implemented, including the dispatch of cadres and lectures to educational institutions inside and outside the Army to get formal training, in-service training, short training, and re-training. At the same time, due regard would be paid to improving cadres and lecturers’ field experience in practical and appropriate forms, sending cadres on missions at units, rotating, assigning, and appointing cadres to assume various positions. Additionally, the Academy needs to organize scientific conferences and seminars, and good lecturer and good manager contests, etc.

Fifth, regularly building a healthy military pedagogical environment, taking care of personnel’s material and spiritual life, and creating favorable conditions for the contingent of cadres and lecturers to devote themselves to their work. The Academy concentrates on investing in upgrading the system of barracks, offices, lecture halls, and specialized classrooms; enhancing the facilities, equipment, textbooks and materials in alignment with the building of “bright - green - clean - scenic” environmental landscape. The entire Academy stringently maintains and implements the regulations on the grass-roots level democracy and the working regulations; bringing into play the synergy in taking care of material and spiritual life for cadres, lecturers and learners; continues reviewing and proposing the Ministry of National Defense to improve and promulgate appropriate mechanisms and policies on reward and treatment for the contingent of doctors, associate professors, professors and so forth. The functional agencies shall closely cooperate with each other and work out the regime on working conditions and facilities in service of teaching and scientific research of cadres and lecturers so that they can develop their sense of responsibility and dedication to work. The exemplary cadres excellently fulfilling the tasks of teaching and scientific research should be opportunely commended and honoured. Besides, it is necessary to multiply creative and efficient working methods and effective models in the Academy’s organs and faculties.

Fully grasping and effectively implementing the Resolution No. 26-NQ/TW of the 7th Plenum of the Party Central Committee (12^th tenure) on personnel work is an important basis for the Academy to build the contingent of cadres and lecturers, meeting the requirements and tasks of education and training in the new situation, contributing to make its Party Committee pure and strong, the Academy regular, advanced, and exemplary.

Maj. Gen., Assoc. Prof, Dr Nguyen Van Bao, Director of the Academy