Thoroughly grasping the resolutions, directives, and projects of the superiors regarding military education, the Party Committee and Board of Principals of the Military Region 4’s Military School have been consistently implementing a comprehensive set of practical measures to innovate and improve the quality of education and training. These efforts aim to contribute to building the Military Region’s strong armed forces capable of meeting the demands of missions in the new context.

In recent years, under the leadership and direction of the Military Region 4 Party Committee and Command, the School Party Committee and Board of Principals have comprehensively carried out all areas of work, placing emphasis on breakthrough solutions that have resulted in fundamental and steady improvements in the quality of education, training, and scientific research. Notably, the training content and curricula have been thoroughly reviewed, revised, and updated to ensure scientific rigour, practicality, comprehensiveness, systematic structure, and alignment with specific cadet profiles. Training and refresher content is closely tied to operational requirements and combat readiness of units and localities, with teaching methods undergoing significant innovation. The teaching staff and educational management personnel have been a focal point for development, with efforts to ensure sufficient numbers while progressively standardising their academic qualifications, leadership and command capabilities, pedagogical skills, and practical experience. Infrastructure and training equipment have received growing investment, becoming increasingly modern. Annually, over 85% of graduating cadets across training categories achieve good or excellent results. In the academic year 2023-2024, the School trained and provided refresher courses for 4,300 cadets across 44 categories, with 2,468 graduates from 42 categories - 85.7% of whom attained good or excellent classification. The School also cooperated with the Army College 1 to train 295 undergraduate and college-level cadets in grassroots military disciplines. Moreover, it provided national defence and security education to 2,298 students from 12 universities and colleges, achieving commendable outcomes and receiving a Certificate of Merit from the General Staff.

Leader of the School has a check of his cadets before their long marching

Currently, the mission of building the Military Region 4’s armed forces places increasingly high demands. The restructuring of two-tier local government systems and the adjustment of administrative boundaries have had direct implications for national defence and military affairs in general, and for the School’s education and training responsibilities in particular. Meanwhile, each year the School receives a large intake of cadets across a wide range of training programmes, with varied enrolment and graduation timelines, and disparate levels of cadets’ knowledge and competencies. The provision of infrastructure and technical equipment remains inconsistent and lacks synchronisation. Against this backdrop, the School is determined to continue innovating and further enhancing the quality of education and training in order to meet the requirements of building and operating the Military Region’s armed forces, as well as supporting local military and defence tasks in the current context.

First and foremost, it is imperative to strengthen leadership and direction in the field of education and training. Party committees and commanders at all levels must continue to thoroughly study and effectively implement Resolution No.1659-NQ/QUTW, dated 20 December 2022, by the Central Military Commission, and Resolution No.755-NQ/ĐU, dated 15 February 2023, by the Military Region Party Committee on “Improving the quality of training for the period 2023-2030 and beyond”; Resolution No.1657-NQ/QUTW, dated 20 December 2022, by the Central Military Commission on “Renewing education and training to meet the requirements of building the Army in the new situation”; and other leadership and guidance documents across the military education system. On that basis, there must be a profound awareness of the significance, urgency, and strategic importance of innovating and enhancing the quality of education and training today. This includes strengthening leadership and oversight of training and education missions; concretising those into implementation plans tailored to each academic year; and effectively communicating tasks and building motivation and a strong sense of responsibility among all stakeholders - especially those in key leadership roles at departments, faculties, and units. At the same time, the School will continue to promote the principle: “The quality of the School’s training reflects the combat readiness of the units”; comprehensively reform all stages of the training process to ensure “genuine teaching, genuine learning, and accurate assessment of cadets’ competencies.” It also aims to enhance the effectiveness of Party and political work; intensify the “Determination-to-Win” emulation movement; and promote the learning and following of Ho Chi Minh thoughts, ethics, and style. Moreover, the School is committed to promoting tradition, dedicating talent, and being worthy of the title “Uncle Ho’s Soldiers” in the new era; and resolutely combating complacency, resistance to innovation, and individualism within the sphere of military education and training.

Secondly, it is essential to comprehensively and synchronously reform the training process, curriculum content, teaching methods, and assessment practices. In light of the requirement to build “compact, capable, and elite” armed forces in Military Region 4, and the evolution of local military and defence work following administrative restructuring, the School faces numerous challenges that must be studied and addressed. Accordingly, the School is committed to continued review and reform of its training processes and curricula to ensure logical coherence within each subject, academic year, and course. A strategic shift is being made from merely imparting knowledge to fostering the comprehensive development of cadets’ attributes and competencies. Greater emphasis is being placed on innovating procedures and enhancing the quality of practical training, internships, and field exercises. The School is also working to establish clear learning outcomes tailored to each training category, aligned closely with operational realities and the needs of the Military Region’s armed forces. Notably, it actively monitors developments and practical issues in local military and defence affairs following the restructuring of administrative units. This enables the School to proactively conduct research and provide timely recommendations to the Military Region Command and superiors regarding the supplementation of training content and programmes to meet the evolving demands of local military and defence tasks in the new situation. The School continues to rigorously implement the application of scientific and technological advances, as well as digital transformation, in the management and conduct of training. It vigorously promotes the modernisation of teaching and learning methods, diversifies forms and techniques of examinations, assessments, and reviews, and combats both formalism and negative practices. Any violations of education and training regulations are promptly and strictly handled. In the teaching process, there is a strong emphasis on promoting military democracy and encouraging cadets’ autonomy, proactivity, and creativity, while resisting dogmatism and mechanical standardisation. The School adheres to the principles of linking theory with practice and emphasising hands-on learning, with practice serving as the primary focus. It fosters independent learning methods, inspires enthusiasm, and nurtures a passion for study and self-discipline among students.

A tactical lesson on the field

The School also continues to conduct field surveys to assess the quality of its graduates, and actively gathers feedback from units and localities on its training programmes. This feedback serves as a basis for evaluation, adjustment, and the incorporation of missing or underdeveloped elements into the curriculum. Simultaneously, it collaborates with units and localities to ensure rigorous selection of incoming students and to carry out proper preliminary reviews, evaluations, and summaries in accordance with regulations.

Thirdly, it is required to build and develop a teaching and educational management workforce that meets the requirements of educational reform. In response to the increasing demands and development of education and training tasks, the School is intensifying the implementation of the project “Building a teaching and educational management workforce in the Army to meet the requirements of fundamental and comprehensive reform in education and training during the 2023-2030 period.” This includes continued efforts in talent sourcing, planning, training, professional development, placement, utilisation, and the reinforcement of supervision and discipline for both teaching staff and educational managers. The School is committed to developing a teaching staff that is sufficient in number, balanced in terms of structure, age, and specialisation, while progressively standardising qualifications, practical experience, and professional ethics in accordance with Ministry of National Defence regulations. The goal is that by 2030, 100% of teaching and educational management staff will meet the required professional standards; 100% will hold undergraduate or postgraduate qualifications, of which at least 35% will have postgraduate degrees; and 95% of lecturers will have held command or management positions at unit level appropriate to the training needs of each learner category. To achieve these objectives, the School proactively cooperates with relevant departments and units to advise the Military Region on the selection of qualified officers from grassroots units - prioritising those with strong ethical qualities and pedagogical competence - for teacher training and postgraduate study, before assigning them to work at the School. At the same time, it sends its existing staff on field rotations to grassroots units, ensuring a two-way enrichment of knowledge and experience. Additionally, the School organises visits and studies of training exercises conducted by military units and localities to expose its staff to practical military scenarios. It also seeks to improve the quality of initiatives such as “Methodology Days”, “Model Lessons”, and competitions for outstanding lecturers and educational managers. Alongside these efforts, through in-service training programmes, the School places strong emphasis on equipping its faculty with modern teaching methodologies, research capabilities, foreign language proficiency, digital literacy, knowledge of practical military affairs, and educational psychology. At the same time, it enhances the managerial competence of its educational leadership team, particularly in areas relating to digital transformation and contemporary educational administration.

Finally, the School actively mobilises resources to modernise infrastructure, equipment, and apply scientific and technological advances in education and training. Alongside effective management, exploitation, and utilisation of the existing infrastructure and equipment, the School continues to advise the Military Region to prioritise investment in upgrading its facilities and equipment to support education, training, and scientific research in a modern and synchronised manner. In the immediate term, the School aims to standardise its system of curricula and teaching materials to keep pace with developments in military and defence tasks. It is investing in the renovation and modernisation of lecture halls and training grounds, with priority given to equipping specialised classrooms with advanced technology, standardising general-purpose classrooms, and ensuring that 100% of cadet battalions are fully equipped with physical training infrastructure to enhance troop conditioning. At the same time, the School is intensifying educational efforts and awareness campaigns to raise the consciousness and sense of responsibility among staff, lecturers, and cadets regarding scientific research. It is also building a repository of teaching and learning resources with capabilities for connectivity, sharing, and practical use in both instruction and research across all learner categories. These initiatives are designed to significantly enhance the quality of education and training, ultimately contributing to the development of a highly competent human resource base for the armed forces of Military Region 4 - capable of meeting mission requirements in the evolving context.

Senior Colonel NGHIEM VIET DUC, Principal