Nowadays, improving the quality of education and training is a crucial issue, a core task of the national system of education and training in general and the military schools, in particular. For the Tank and Armoured Technical School, this task is more pivotal owing to the requirements of building the Corps and the “elite, compact, strong” tank-armour forces in the whole army towards modernity. However, the School has been facing many difficulties and challenges in carrying out this task. Noticeably, the School’s organisation, staff and tasks have been changed; the quality of teachers and teaching assistants in branches is not equal, the number of experienced teachers has been decreased due to their retirement; weapons and facilities for training have been in shortage and nonsynchronous, etc. In this situation, to create the strong breakthrough in improving the quality of education and training, the School’s Party Committee and Board of Directors have been implementing drastically and synchronously many guidelines and solutions to draw some precious experience in the coming time.

The principal of the school speaks at the closing ceremony of class 20

At first, strengthening the organisation and staff; intensely bringing into play the roles and responsibilities of all-level party committees and commands in their managing and operating the education and training. Implementing the seniors’ resolutions and directions on building the elite, compact, strong Military, the School’s Party Committee has built the specific resolution to lead the task of merging the 1^st School for Tank non-commissioned officers; at the same time, directed offices, the Political and Training Department in particular, to proactively research and hold the situation, assist the Party Committee and  Board of Directors in strictly conducting the merging decision from the Ministry of National Defence and the Corps. In the implementation, the School has considered it most important to strengthen the party committees and organisations at all levels to make sure the solidarity, agreement and high combat capacity; on that basis, to formulate, supplement and complete the system of rules and regulations on leading main working fields, the cores are the ones of leading and operating the training by the Party Committee, Board of Directors, offices, faculties and cadet units; paid attention to the political and ideological education for cadres, teachers, workers, cadets, especially the ones conducting the merging and adjustment, assuring the unity and agreement in each branch and the entire School, not affecting the work of training.

Presently, as the School has 3 branches being located in both the North and the South with different tasks and training learners each, to successfully accomplish the tasks, the School has strengthened its leadership, direction and grasp of the tasks, built the motivation and responsibility for both teachers and learners so that they can be fully aware of the necessity and importance to improve the quality of education and training in the present situation, at the same time, attentively directed, managed and operated the education and training in the regular and synchronous way based on the systems of rules, regulations and plans; brought into play the role of the party committee members, leading cadres at all levels; enhanced the inspection and evaluation of results, timely learnt from experience, solved the weaknesses in each branch. Especially, the School has attentively invested and applied the information technology into their management, command and operation; combined the direct and online leadership, management and operation, firmly avoided the loose leadership and direction.

Secondly, building the contingent of teachers and managing cadres in adequate quantity, with comprehensive skills, capacity and practical experience. Being fully aware of the roles of teachers and educational administrators, the School has enhanced the implementation of Plan No. 2433/KH-TTCKT, dated 08 December 2023 on implementing the Project of “Building the contingent of teachers and educational administrators in the Military in the 2023-2030 period and the following years” with detailed programmes and plans; of which, they have clearly defined the annual targets, and the tasks and solutions to conduct, at the same time, directed the functional offices to intensely check and evaluate the reality of cadres and teachers to build the plans on training, retraining and using sources, meeting the task requirements now and in the long run. Accordingly, the School has made various forms and methods; closely combined the training and retraining, taking the on-site training and cultivation as the keys and encouraging the motivation and pressure for cadres and teachers to self-study and research to improve their levels and pedagogical skills; directed offices and faculties to promote the methodical activities, enhance the examination and sudden lecture attending to accurately evaluate the teachers’ levels and skills, timely solve the weaknesses and shortcomings of teaching contents and methods. Besides, the School has kept organising the contests of all-level excellent teachers; actively selected and sent teachers to take part in the Defence Ministry-level contests, created the environment for teachers to improve their all-round capacity.

A training session about tank and amoured vehicle

As the School’s training objects include technicians, repairmen of vehicles, guns, etc. who require high skills of practice, to meet the training demands, the School has intensely built the skilful training assistants to join the practice guidance, the practice and transmission of skills and specialised experience for cadets. In recent years, together with implementing the plans on creating the training sources and short-term training, the School has attentively selected non-commissioned officers and high-level technicians who have been working for many years in the School’s repair stations to be the training assistants; held the retraining courses on knowledge and pedagogical skills for them, especially the knowledge of new weapons and equipment which have been only equipped in several units so that they could be the “models” in guiding the movements, review, training and transmitting professional experience to cadets, making contribution to improving the quality of education and training.

Thirdly, intensely enhancing the training contents and programmes, teaching-learning methods to meet the training demands. These are the main contents of the School in implementing Resolution No. 1657-NQ/QUTW, dated 20 December 2023 by the Cemtral Military Commission on renovating the education and training to meet the requirements of building the Military in the new situation and the Project of “Renovating the training process and programme for all-level cadres in the Military, meeting the task requirements in the new situation”. Concurrently, these are also the concretised contents to carry out the motto “The training quality of schools is the combat readiness capacity of units”. To create the foundation for the improvement of education and training, the School has closely followed the guidelines from the Corps and based on the real conditions of units to build the output standards for learners combined with adding, completing and standardising the training contents and programmes, assuring that graduated cadets have basic knowledge and professional skills due to their training majors, are able to effectively manage, exploit and use the tank-armour facilities. Based on the output standards, the School has directed offices and faculties to check, re-evaluate the entire training contents and programmes, and collect feedbacks from all tank-armour units in the whole army in order to make adjustments, firmly remove any unsuitable contents, solve the outspread and unbalance of knowledge, reduce the time of theories and increase the one of practice, attentively add to the training programmes the contents of managing, using, maintaining and repairing new and modern tank-armour equipment which has been equipped in units towards modernity. By doing this, in the school year of 2022-2023, the School completed the adjustment, addition and new building of 13 training programmes for learners with high quality, which has been highly appreciated by the Corps Command.

Together, the School has promoted the renovation of teaching-learning methods in the way of taking the learners as the centre, combining the training with the reality of building and combatting of the Tank-Armour soldiers, improved the capacity of solving situations and professional working manners for cadets. Implementing this guideline, the School has directed faculties to closely combine the theories with practice, taking practice on weapons and equipment as the key; actively apply technology and simulation techniques in their teaching; pay attention to researching, compiling and including into curriculum the real situations so that cadets could research, analyse and figure out solutions, improve their thinking ability and comprehension. At the same time, the School has actively taken cadets to repair stations to take part in repairing weapons and equipment so that cadets could directly contact, experiment and accumulate their real experience. Besides, the School has intensely renovated the examination and evaluation of cadets’ learning results, focusing on improving the quality of exam questions towards upholding the ability of practice, applying the theories into reality; invited leaders of tank-armour units to assess graduated cadets in order to increase the clarity and connection with the units, conducting the “3 reals” in education and training.

Fourthly, valuing the implementation of support for the task of education and training. Closely following the direction by the Corps Command, the development orientation of tank-armour weapons and equipment, and the conditions of the existing infrastructure, materials, facilities and vehicles, the School has actively mobilised the sources to modernise the materials, equipment, vehicles and training grounds to meet the task requirements at present and in the long run. In particular, the School has prioritised the investment into building the systems of training grounds, workshops, especially the ones for practicing driving, tactics, weapons and shooting, the lecture halls and specialised classrooms. In parallel, the School has promoted the movement of research, initiatives, innovation of teaching models and aids, the regularity building, discipline management; created the healthy cultural environment, “green, clean and scenic” barrack, making contribution to improving the quality of education and training, meeting the demands for the task of safeguarding the Fatherland in the new situation.

Senior Colonel, MA. DAO CHI THANH, The principal of the School