Media Release
Mangaluru, Jul 13: The School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya in collaboration with Karnataka Association of Professional Social Workers and Coastal Karnataka Social Work Educators and partnering universities on July 12 from 4.30 pm onwards hosted a webinar on 'National Council for Social Work Education in India – scope and way forward'.
The webinar saw eminent social workers coming together on a single platform with a common goal of educating future social workers on the importance of having a social work committee and the need to legitimise social work as a formal profession.
Dr Juliet C J, principal of the School of Social Work, Roshni Nilaya provided a bird’s eye view on the historical growth of social work education in the coastal region of Karnataka, stressed the importance of fieldwork in social work education and encouraged all institutions to optimally use local resources. She further stressed the need for developing unity and collaboration among the social work fraternity.
Gandhi Doss, professor Emeritus of Bangalore University and Central University, Jammu and also President of India Network of Professional Social Worker Association, highlighted the importance of having an identity established especially for a profession and encouraged the participants to fight for our identity. He noted that this webinar is a good beginning and is a stepping stone for future progress.
Dr Sanjai Bhatt, professor at Delhi School of Social Work and also national convenor of National Council for Social Work Education (NCSWE) – National Campaign Committee, stressed the importance of having a council for any profession that gives it legitimacy. It also helps regulate processes and helps in coordination. He also expressed concern about the lack of appropriate job opportunities and poor employability of the social work graduates. According to a volunteer survey conducted in 2019, there are close to 7 lac students pursuing a degree in BSW and MSW. He expressed the need to form a council that would help aspiring social workers get the right kind of employment. Dr Bhatt also took the audience through a journey of the NCSWE and the campaign strategies followed which included improving the education quality of social work and to increase awareness among the policymakers and the University Grants Commission (UGC) about the social work profession. He encouraged all budding social workers to start right away to work towards legitimising the profession.
N V Vasudeva Sharma, executive director of Child Rights Trust (CRT), Bengaluru and also the president of Karnataka Association of Professional Social Workers (KAPSW) reiterated Dr Bhatt’s views and informed the gathering that having a social work council will remove major hurdles faced by social work graduates in getting appropriate employment opportunities. He lauded the efforts of the organisers and requested all to work towards the realisation of the goal.
Dr Murli Desai, former professor and head of Social Work Education and Practice Cell, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai and convener of the drafting committee of National Council for Social Work Education Bill, 2021 took the audience through the drafting, the constitution, committees, panels and the current status of the bill. She also highlighted the key aspects of the bill that have a direct impact on the way of education such as registration and the establishment of a code of ethics. Notably, the bill takes inspiration from and was drafted in line with the current social work education.
Dr Ipe Varghese, head of the department of Social Work of BCM College, Kottayam as well as general secretary of Kerala Association of Professional Social Workers and convener of South India Zone of Campaign for National Council for Social Work highlighted the importance of having a voice and speaking out. He encouraged all the social workers to disseminate the information to the local levels so that more people are involved and active in making the bill a reality. He indicated that the social work fraternity is currently 6 lac members strong and growing and encouraged all these professionals to come together and work towards this goal.
The event was jointly organised by several universities namely Mangalore University, Karnataka University of Dharwad, Rani Channamma University, Mysore University, Bangalore University, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE) – Deemed to be University, Yenopoya – Deemed to be University, College of Social Work, Nirmala Niketan Mumbai, Don Bosco College, Goa, St Aloysius College, Mangaluru and SDM College, Ujire and other colleges in the region. The event saw close to 200 social work academicians and practitioners participating.