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The first constitution of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam was adopted in 1980; it was superceded by a second constitution, promulgated in 1992. In addition to reforming Vietnam's government and political structure, the 1992 constitution also outlined major shifts in foreign policy and economic doctrine. In particular, it stressed the development of all economic sectors, including private enterprise, and it granted foreign investors the right to legal ownership of their capital and assets while guaranteeing that their property could not be nationalized by the state. A unicameral, popularly elected National Assembly is the supreme organ of the government. It elects the president, who is head of state, and the vice president. The cabinet consists of the prime minister, who is nominated by the president and approved by the National Assembly, and deputy prime ministers and the heads of government ministries and various state organizations, who are named by the prime minister and confirmed by the Assembly. The cabinet coordinates and directs the ministries and various state organizations of the central government and supervises the administrative committees at the local government level. The responsibilities of the ministries usually are divided along narrow functional lines; there are, for example, numerous economic ministries concerned with agriculture and the food industry, marine products, forestry, and water conservancy. Larger ministries tend to be relatively self-sufficient, with their own colleges, training institutions, and health, social, and cultural facilities. There also are several commissions under the cabinet, such as the State Planning Commission. The prime minister's office oversees a number of general departments beneath the ministerial level and committees that are formed to supervise major projects which involve more than one ministry. The country is divided administratively into 50 provinces and 3 municipalities (Hanoi, Haiphong, and Ho Chi Minh City). These are further subdivided into about 500 districts. At the provincial and district levels, the highest government authority is an elected People's Council, the actual work of which is carried out by administrative committees elected by the councils. Village administration is represented by village People's Councils. Both the 1980 and 1992 constitutions institutionalized the Vietnamese Communist Party as the sole source of leadership for the state and society. The 1992 document, however, delegated much more authority to the president and to the cabinet (which superceded the earlier Council of Ministers); they were given the task of running the government, while the party became responsible for overall policy decisions. These changes reduced considerably the role of the party. Notably affected were the Politboro and the larger Central Committee--which previously had been the major decision-making bodies of both the party and the state--and the Secretariat and its presiding general secretary--which, in their role of operating the party organization and carrying out the resolutions of the Central Committee and the Politboro, had effectively governed the country. Nonetheless, the party remains the dominant political institution within Vietnam. Numerous popular associations disseminate party policies and serve as training grounds for potential party members. The Vietnamese Women's Union is an important and active organization. The Ho Chi Minh Communist Youth Union is largely responsible for the Vietnam Youth Federation, while local party units and agricultural cooperative organizations assume leadership over the Farmers' Federation. The Vietnam Federation of Trade Unions has the responsibility of safeguarding workers' welfare, but it does not function as a Western-style bargaining unit. The judicial system consists of the courts and the People's Organs of Control. The National Assembly supervises the work of the Supreme People's Court, which is the highest court of appeal and the court of first instance for special cases (such as treason). This court, in turn, supervises the judicial work of local People's Courts, which are responsible to their corresponding People's Councils. The People's Courts function at all levels of government except the village, where the village administrative committee functions as a primary court. The People's Organs of Control act as watchdogs for the state: they monitor the performance of government agencies, maintain vast powers of surveillance, and act as prosecutors before the People's Courts. The Supreme People's Organ of Control is responsible only to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly. Military forces include the army, paramilitary regional and provincial forces, the militia, and the reserves. There are separate military commands in Hanoi, Haiphong, and Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam has maintained a proportionally large military force. The Vietnamese, with their Confucian traditions, have always placed great importance on education. Rural education in the south was badly disrupted during the war years, and all religious and private schools were nationalized after 1975. The government subsequently pursued a policy of education reform. Nine years of schooling are mandatory and are divided into five years of primary and four years of lower-secondary school. Continuing students are enrolled either in an academic or a vocational upper-secondary program, which lasts three years. Opportunities for advanced education are limited. The University of Hanoi, founded originally by the French and refounded in 1956, is the country's oldest institute of higher education. Literacy rates are high. Emphasis is placed on training in science and technology, although a lack of equipment hinders the program. Several thousand students are sent abroad each year to study languages and technology. While most students once went to the Soviet Union and the countries of eastern Europe, increasing numbers are now studying in Western countries (including the United States) or in Japan. Before reunification, health services were underdeveloped in the rural areas of the south but were well-developed in the north. After 1975 there was a general increase in health facilities and personnel. The health care system is one of the socialist state's greatest achievements; like all other programs in Vietnam, however, it has been severely hampered by a lack of funds since the late 1970s.
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