Directive No. 25/2001/CT-BGD on measures to strengthen national defense education work at institutions under the sector in the new situation.

 DIRECTIVE

On measures to strengthen national defense education work at institutions under the sector in the new situation.

National defense education for students and trainees is an important component of the nationwide national defense education work, serving the cause of protecting and building the country. National defense education is a compulsory subject included in the teaching program of secondary schools, vocational high schools, colleges, and universities as stipulated in Article 17 of the Law on Military Service Obligation. The Resolution of the Third Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam's Seventh Congress clearly stated that "it is necessary to strengthen national defense education for all people, first and foremost for cadres at all levels and sectors of the Party and State and young students." On February 12, 2001, the Political Bureau issued Directive No. 62-CT/TW on strengthening nationwide national defense education in the new situation.

In recent years, the education and training sector has made many efforts to overcome difficulties in implementing directives, resolutions of the Party, state regulatory documents, and those of the sector, incorporating national defense education into teaching programs and gradually improving its quality for students and trainees from secondary schools, vocational high schools to colleges and universities. The sector has also participated in recruiting and training thousands of reserve officers from university graduates to build the reserve force, among whom there have been thousands of reserve officers directly participating in serving the military. The national defense education subject has truly played an important role in achieving the basic goals of education as set out in the Resolution of the Second Plenary Session of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam's Eighth Congress, which is "to build people and generations who are deeply attached to the ideals of national independence and socialism, with clear morality, strong will to build and defend the country."

However, the implementation of national defense education for students and trainees in current educational institutions still has certain limitations and does not meet the requirements set forth. There are many reasons for this situation, mainly due to: some cadres' understanding of national defense tasks generally and national defense education specifically being simplistic, sometimes neglecting it, the leadership responsibility at various levels not being sufficiently emphasized, insufficient dissemination to party members, teachers, students, and trainees about the role and position of the national defense education subject. The management mechanism, guidance system, and regulatory documents for implementing national defense education are inconsistent and incomplete.

To effectively fulfill the national defense mission serving the cause of protecting and building the country and promoting industrialization and modernization in the current situation, it is necessary to strengthen the comprehensive training of young students and trainees as prescribed by the Education Law. The Ministry of Education and Training requires all levels of educational management, units, and schools within the sector to implement the following tasks:

1-Organize thorough dissemination of the spirit of Directive No. 62-CT/TW dated February 12, 2001, of the Political Bureau to all party members, cadres, and teachers in the education and training sector, aiming to consolidate and enhance awareness for all individuals regarding the task of building a nationwide national defense, recognizing each person's and organization's responsibilities in fulfilling the national defense mission, understanding the enemy's plots and methods against the Vietnamese revolution, especially against the youth, resolutely struggling to defeat the "peaceful evolution" strategy and violent overthrow of hostile forces, protecting the Party, the socialist regime, firmly safeguarding the country's independence, sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity, and national interests.

2- Organize the implementation of Decree No. 15/2001/NĐ-CP dated May 1, 2001, of the Government and other guiding legal documents on national defense education work. Mobilize cadres and party members of units and schools under the sector to fully participate in national defense education classes organized according to the Government's regulations.

3- Organize for cadres, teachers, and staff to thoroughly understand the comprehensive education viewpoint, correctly recognize the position of nationwide national defense education and the national defense education subject in the school curriculum. At the same time, find all possible measures to resolve temporary difficulties to implement the national defense education program for each level as decided by Decision No. 12/2000/QĐ-BGD&ĐT dated May 9, 2000, of the Minister of Education and Training, with quality and effectiveness. For students of secondary schools and vocational high schools, implement evaluation and grading for the national defense education subject according to the regulations of the Ministry of Education and Training, moving towards recording examination results in student transcripts and including them in the calculation of average points for graduation assessment for all students. Strictly implement the rules on organizing training, examination, testing, and graduation certification for college and university students as decided by Decision No. 04/1999/QĐ-BGD&ĐT dated February 11, 1999, of the Minister of Education and Training. Study to gradually incorporate the implementation of national defense work, including national defense education, into unit competition criteria.

4- Functional agencies of the sector have the responsibility to coordinate with relevant agencies of the Ministry of Defense, the Personnel Department of the Government, and the Ministry of Finance to study and promptly issue specific regulatory documents on positions and staffing for national defense education teachers, and documents on policies for national defense education managers and teachers. Accelerate the implementation of regular training and teacher development tasks to gradually meet the demand for national defense education teachers in vocational high schools and secondary schools.

5- Gradually improve the system of management organizations for national defense education from the Ministry to departments, schools. Consolidate existing national defense education faculties and departments in universities and colleges. Actively enhance and improve the capacity of existing national defense education centers and establish new ones, especially in key areas where many colleges and universities are concentrated, so that a large number of students can study national defense education courses at these centers according to the prescribed program.

6- The Planning and Finance Department shall coordinate with relevant agencies to issue guiding documents for units and schools to implement budget regulations for national defense education as stipulated in Article 15 of Decree No. 15/2001/NĐ-CP dated May 1, 2001 of the Government on National Defense Education. Increase appropriate investment in material and equipment serving national defense education subjects such as training grounds, specialized classrooms, teaching aids. Closely cooperate with local military agencies to obtain assistance with weapons and specialized learning tools to effectively combine theory with practice, thereby improving the quality of national defense education for students.

7- Establish and implement well the rules for teaching and learning the national defense education subject, promote extracurricular activities on themes such as "National Defense Day" and "Field Athletics - National Defense Sports" organized by units, schools, and the sector.

8- The National Defense Education Department shall take the lead, together with related functional agencies under the Ministry of Education and Training and the Ministry of National Defense, in urging and inspecting the implementation of the above contents. Develop plans and conduct regular inspections and audits of national defense education work in schools according to their administrative levels. Each year, departments of education and training, vocational schools, colleges, and universities shall report fully to the Ministry on the implementation of national defense education work in their units.

Unit leaders, directors of education and training departments, and principals of schools are responsible for organizing the implementation and checking compliance with this Directive.