Master's training in anti-corruption - should or shouldn't?

Illustration photo. Source: dantri.com.vn

The dedication of scientists, managers and leaders

According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Thi Que Anh, Head of the Faculty of Law, Hanoi National University, anti-corruption (PCTN) is of special concern to the Party and the State. Therefore, education, propaganda to raise awareness and training human resources are long-term fundamental measures of great importance. The Faculty of Law is the first university training institution to organize teaching and research on anti-corruption in a formal and systematic manner and will start from 2018. The program is built with the goal of training experts with comprehensive and in-depth knowledge for agencies and organizations in need of this field in Vietnam, such as: specialized agencies on anti-corruption, social organizations, international organizations, businesses, academic institutions, media agencies...

Prof. Nguyen Dinh Duc, Hanoi National University, said: “Our country is in the process of integration and innovation and there are many issues related to anti-corruption. Besides the anti-corruption work of state officials, there are currently many businesses taking advantage of loopholes in legal policies to harm the people. The 4.0 industrial revolution is making corruption more and more sophisticated. All of this has raised the requirement to improve the quality of teaching and research in this field in Vietnam in general and Hanoi National University in particular.”

Sharing this view, Associate Professor Dr. Vu Cong Giao, Faculty of Law, Hanoi National University, said that the program's goal is to train experts with comprehensive and in-depth knowledge of state administration and anti-corruption for agencies and organizations participating in the fight against corruption in Vietnam.

Regarding the teaching staff, the core is professors and doctors who are lecturers at the Faculty of Law, Hanoi National University, in addition to foreign professors, professors and doctors who are lecturers at other universities in Vietnam, experts working for state agencies, social organizations, international organizations, and businesses.

According to Deputy Inspector General of the Government Nguyen Van Thanh, the content of the master's training program in law on State administration and anti-corruption is very meaningful, completely consistent with the anti-corruption strategy and the anti-corruption education training program that Vietnam has organized and implemented for nearly 10 years.

However, the Deputy Inspector General of the Government suggested that the input for those who want to attend this training program should be expanded. “Research and training on PCTN is essentially studying the weaknesses and shortcomings of public administration. That is not only the privilege of lawyers, but many people from other sectors also want to participate,” he explained.

Deputy Inspector General of the Government Nguyen Van Thanh affirmed: "Practice has proven that our current public administration, despite many efforts, still has many weaknesses. Corruption-related cases in various fields make us startled.

Dr. Dinh Van Minh, Director of the Institute of Strategy and Inspection Science, said that this is a meaningful training program, demonstrating a strong change in awareness in the work of preventing and fighting corruption, the fight cannot be successful overnight. An effort that needs strong support from society in conditions where there are not a few concerns about a new major.

“This is also the basic viewpoint in the fight against corruption of the Party and the State. Training masters in State administration and anti-corruption is not outside of that sustainable goal. It is not by chance that the idea of ​​opening this major has been enthusiastically supported by international experts and supported by many developed countries, and is considered the most transparent and cleanest” - Dr. Dinh Van Minh emphasized.

Concerns about a training major

Speaking to the press, Lawyer Tran Quoc Thuan, former Deputy Head of the National Assembly Office, said he felt a bit strange when hearing this information in the press and wondered what these masters in State Administration and Anti-Corruption would do after completing their training and where would they be accepted?

Lawyer Tran Quoc Thuan affirmed: This is an inherent disease of those in power, only those in power create harassment, embezzlement, and corruption. Therefore, those who should learn about anti-corruption are state officials and civil servants. It is necessary to train, research, and establish departments related to anti-corruption in party schools, cadre and administrative schools. It is more reasonable to open anti-corruption departments in those schools. It is necessary to thoroughly understand and systematize anti-corruption in the team of state officials and civil servants, from party officials to government officials, union officials, front officials... "To teach a topic, the lecturer must have theory, requiring the lecturer to be good and trained", Lawyer Tran Quoc Thuan proposed.

Also giving his opinion on this training program, Associate Professor Dr. Vo Kim Son, former Head of the Department of State Management and Personnel, National Academy of Public Administration, said he was not sure what this program would teach. “If a person knows nothing about corruption and now teaches them how to prevent and fight corruption, it is unreasonable. No one can teach one person so that they can hold the scales and fight corruption. If so, it would be better to teach the whole apparatus,” Associate Professor Dr. Vo Kim Son expressed his opinion.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Vo Kim Son, if teaching anti-corruption means teaching people that the law must be handled strictly and effectively, that leaders must be held accountable, and that people must be monitored to see if they accept envelopes or not... then those things have been talked about a lot but in reality, not much has been done.

"To prevent and fight corruption, we have to teach differently, not in this academic way," Associate Professor Dr. Vo Kim Son said.

Speaking to the press, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Hoang Giap, Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, said that opening a postgraduate training program on anti-corruption is unnecessary. Because according to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Hoang Giap, the content on anti-corruption is already included in many subjects on law, party building, and political science. "The Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics is very interested in this issue in the training program," Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Hoang Giap emphasized.

According to Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Hoang Giap, those who conduct in-depth research on anti-corruption are mostly cadres working on Party building, organization and inspection work, so the subjects that need training should belong to this group.

Agreeing with the opinion of Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Hoang Giap, lawyer Nguyen Anh Thom, Hanoi Bar Association, said that the acts of corruption in the 2005 Anti-Corruption Law have been transformed into the provisions of the old 1999 Penal Code and the new 2015 Penal Code (amended and supplemented in 2017).

Thus, according to lawyer Nguyen Anh Thom, it can be seen that the training of masters of law in State administration and anti-corruption is basically included in the training of criminal law in general. "Therefore, training in State administration and anti-corruption should be carried out within Party schools and cadre training schools to bring more practical results," lawyer Nguyen Anh Thom stated his opinion.

According to lawyer Nguyen Anh Thom, if it is necessary to train masters in anti-corruption, it is necessary to add more in-depth training to the master of law major, because that would be more practical. "If we just open the major and train everywhere, we don't know where the masters in anti-corruption will work and which agencies and organizations will accept them," lawyer Nguyen Anh Thom wondered.

According to Mr. Luu Binh Nhuong - Standing member of the National Assembly's Committee on Social Affairs, any agency participating in the fight against corruption is to be encouraged. But opening a master's program in anti-corruption "seems to be using something strange to show off".

He explained that anti-corruption training has been included in the civic education program at the high school level, with content teaching ethics, lifestyle, and law. “Therefore, there should be specialized topics, and it is not necessary to have a separate master's program on anti-corruption. Anyone who studies Law will understand what corruption is, how corruption and law violations manifest,” Mr. Luu Binh Nhuong shared.

Thus, it can be seen that the announcement of the Law Faculty, Hanoi National University, on the master's degree training program in law on State Administration and Anti-Corruption has received the attention not only of scientists, managers, leaders, but also of party members, officials, civil servants and people. Concerns and different opinions are normal and understandable, and it also shows the interest and active participation of the whole society in the fight against corruption, as General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong said: "All agencies are involved, no one is standing outside. And it is impossible to stand outside. Any individual who wants to not do it cannot do it."

However, the training of masters in State administration and anti-corruption is a new content that needs to be researched and summarized in practice in the conditions in Vietnam. Our Party is the leading and ruling Party, the Party comprehensively and directly leads the fight against corruption and the Head of the Central Steering Committee on anti-corruption is the General Secretary. This organizational model has been operating very effectively, especially since the beginning of the 12th Congress term until now, such as the issuance of Party regulations on setting examples; inspection, supervision, and handling of party discipline is an important basis for training agencies to research and develop training content and programs, in order to contribute to the successful implementation of the fight against corruption in our country./.