Trung Khanh, which is a mountainous and border district and located in the Northeast of Cao Bang province, has the total area of 688.01 km² and the population of 73,000 people, in which over 90% are the Tay and Nung ethnic groups. The district has many caves and areas which are valuable for military affairs and shares a borderline of 93.783 km with Jingxi City and Daxin county in the Zhuang Autonomous Region, Guangxi, China. It is consequently considered a key region for national defence and security. Clearly understanding this importance, in recent years, the District, together with improving the socio-economic development, has enhanced the national defence and security; considering the education on national defence and security as one of the main missions which needs to be implemented with many practical and effective solutions.

Leader of the district award outstanding individuals in defence and military work

Remarkably, in order to grasp and implement the Law on national defence and security education, seniors’ directions and guidance on this issue, the District annually directs the District Military Command – the Standing Agency in the District Council for national defence and security education to practically survey and investigate the participants to advise the District Party Committee and people’s Committee to make schedules on further training of national defence and security for all participants and people; issue documents on directions and guidance, training plans and the implementation of the legal documents on this important work. Especially, on implementing the Resolution No. 897/NQ-UBTVQH14, dated 11/02/2020 by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly on arranging the district-level administrative offices and renaming the commune-level administrative offices in Cao Bang province, the District has actively carried out methods to strengthen the all-level Board of national defence and security education, making sure the quantity and all assigned elements; additionally made the action rules suitable with the reality to improve the action effectiveness. At the same time, the District has raised many methods to improve the quality and effectiveness of the national defence and security education for all participants and all people. Through the further education, the party committees and local governments’ awareness, knowledge and direction ability, the counselling capability of boards, agencies on national defence and security have been improved, contributing to the maintenance of political security, social safety and order, the construction of the firm people’s heart and mind posture, making suitable conditions for the local economy, society and tourism to develop fast and sustainably, getting the high appreciation from the Boards of national defence and security education in the province and Military Region No. 1.

Presently, due to its complicated geographical features and low starting point, the District has been in its hard conditions with high rate of poor and near-poor households. Besides, there potentially exist the natural disasters, diseases, trafficking, trading frauds, illegal entrance and exits, transboundary criminals and illegal missionary work. According to this reality, in order to successfully accomplish the targets and schedules of the Resolution of the 20^th District Party Congress on making Trung Khanh a poverty-escaped district in 2025, in the future, together with the implementation of its key tasks on building the Party, developing the socio-economy, the District Party Committee and People’s Committee have promoted the national defence and security education for all participants and all people, creating the high unity in the awareness and actions when implementing the tasks of national defence and military affairs in order to maintain the political security, social safety and order, making the ground for the fast and sustainable development for the area.

First and foremost, it is necessary to enhance the grasp and education for cadres, party members and the people, especially the all-level ones, on the Party and the State’s policies, and on the national defence and security education. The core is the Direction No. 12-CT/TW, dated 04/5/2007 by the Politburo (10^th Congress) on “Strengthening the Party’s leadership on the national defence and security education”, the Law of national defence and security education and other leading documents from the seniors. It is whereby to make cadres, party members and people become profoundly aware of the position and roles of the national defence and security education in the cause of building and protecting the Homeland; clearly define the responsibility for this mission, and firmly remedy the simplification manifestations and the ideas that consider this mission as the police and army’s one. At the same time, the District has continued to direct the party committees, local governments, agencies and branches to strengthen the Council of the national defence and security education with enough quantity and right components; complete the running regulations of the Council to fit the reality of each area, improve the quality and action effectiveness, especially for the remote, mountainous and border communes and other areas which are important in the national defence and security.

Together with the education, the District has improved the key roles of all-level military organs in advising and organising the national defence and security education and renewing the methods of organisation and implementation. Owing to the large area, separated terrain and difficult traffic conditions, with 11 communes and 01 town in the borderline, and in order to make sure that 100% participants can complete the training program on national defence and security in the tenure, the District has directed the Military Command to cooperate with the Department of Propaganda to check and classify the participants to make and carry out the training plans, spontaneously, enhance the renovation of organisation, contents, programs and education methods to suit each participant and area features.

In order to reduce the limitations and inedequacies in the past years, the District, in the next time, plans to select the participants who have quite similar awareness, knowledge and work when holding the further training courses; concurrently, makes a good preparation of the training materials, plans, learner convention, content selection and invite teachers who have good knowledge to do their teaching, etc. Simutanuously, the District actively researches to build a system of suitable subjects for participants, remove the out-of-date and duplicate contents, add new subjects on building and protecting the Homeland, especially on national defence, protecting borders and maintaining the political security, social safety and order in the area, etc. according to the Circular No. 38/2014/TT-BQP by the Ministry of National Defence on issuing programs, contents and frame programs for the national defence and security education. It is also to promote the combination between further training on the national defence and security for cadres, party members, leaders of offices, agencies and unions in meetings, in people’s, government’s and party’s work, training meetings, and in exercises of defence zones, natural disasters prevention and rescue, etc.

In recent years, taking the advantages of difficulties caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and people’s limited awareness, some culprits have strengthened the illegal missionary work, especially the one by Duong Van Minh, causing the instability of the political security, social safety and order. In order to struggle and strengthen the political-spiritual potentials of all defence zones, build the people’s heart and mind posture, the posture of all-people national defence combined with the posture of people’s security, the District continues to enhance propaganda on the knowledge of the national defence and security for all people. The propagandised contents are to focus on making clear the Party’s national defence and military guidelines and policies, the missions of building the all-people national defence and protecting the Homeland; the Law on Border Defence, 03 documents on the border (including the Agreement on borders management regulations, the Agreement on the border gates and the Regulation on border gates management in the borderlines between Vietnam and China); laying bare the plots by hostile forces in the area, etc. To improve the effectiveness, the District has directed the Military and Command Council to combine with the Department of Culture and Information and other related offices to make plans of the national defence and security education and propaganda on the mass media, at the same time, enhanced the national defence and security education and propaganda when recruiting soldiers, paying for the Militia and Reserve Forces, and holding the cultural and traditional events in the local area.

The District continues to direct education centres, high schools in particular, to select, educate and standardise their teachers of national defence and security; upgrade the educational facilities and equipment; conduct the extracurricular activities such as visiting museums, historical relics, exchanging with military units in the area, listening to veterans talk about the national and Vietnam People’s Army’s traditions and national defence competitions, etc. in order to widen the knowledge, improve the quality, personality, awareness of disciplines and organisation, love for the homeland and responsibility for students and all people in the cause of building and protecting the Homeland.

In order to timely discover, correct and prevent the limitations and weaknesses in the national defence and security education in grass-root units, the District continues to enhance the investigation and examination according to its management administration. It is to attentively lead and direct the construction and quality improvement of the political system; build pure and strong party cells, totally strong governmental system; well implement the Democracy Regulations at grass-root levels, timely discover and solve the arising difficulties to avoid the formation of hot spots. It needs to well organise the activities of “returning somebody’s favour”, help the people develop the economy, eradicate hunger and eliminate poverty, etc. to make the agreement between the party committees, local government and the people in implementing the Party’s and State’s guidelines and policies in order to meet the demands for building and protecting the Homeland in the new situation.

CHU THI VINH, District Committee Member, Vice-president of People’s Committee, President of the District Council for defence and security education