Social Worker. The very introduction throws an impression of a geeky individual clad in khadi kurta and trousers carrying a post-man type bag and sporting an eager-to- help kind of expression. Well, I too had the same views about it some two years back. It took me four semesters, six field work trips and countless presentations to understand the nature of this multi-dimensional subject and to acknowledge its professional orientation.
What is Social Work?  Going by its current definition ,“Social Work may be defined as an art, a science, a profession that helps people to solve personal , group ( especially family), and community problems and to attain satisfying personal, group and community relationships through Social Work Practice, including Case Work, Group Work, Community Organisation, Social Work Administration, and Research”.  If the definition is too heady, it can be simplified as, “Social Work is a helping profession that solves peoples’ problems and thereby facilitates social adjustment by enhancing social functioning of people.”
How do we solve peoples’ problems? That is done by first defining the problem and devising the most applicable intervention technique among various others that we are taught in our trainings. One of the distinguishing characteristics of social work is that the focus is on wholeness and totality of a person. We consider a person to be a bio-psycho-socio being surrounded by environmental factors. Thus, social workers talk of a “total person in a total environment”.
The discipline, guarded within the framework of specified principles and ethics, owes its origins to basic human sentiments of helping each other, caring, sharing and philanthropy. Apart from that, major religions of the world helped in procuring funds for it, for instance- the Zakaat system in Islam. It took quite a while for this field to acquire its present state. It was initiated in Britain by the Elizebethan Poor Laws from 1601 onwards, when social work took a somewhat systematized shape. Gradually, concepts like welfare of the poor and social assistance emerged; that instilled in people, the importance of such a discipline. Meanwhile, an equally important emphasis was laid on social work education. Initially, philanthropy and social work schools were started in places like Pennsylvania and Chicago. India, assuming the character of a welfare state, couldn’t negate its importance either. In India, the first school to offer Social Work as a discipline, in 1936, was Sir Dorabji Tata Institute of Social Sciences, presently TISS (Tata Institute of Social Sciences). From that time, Social Work Education has advanced by leaps and bounds and is also being offered as a full time post-graduate course in the Department of Sociology and Social Work, University of Kashmir since 2003.
Over a span of four semesters, we are taught a variety of subjects like Counseling, Sociology, Case Work, Group Work, Community organization, Research Methodology, Social Welfare Management, Economics, Growth and Development, Preventive and Social Medicine, Social Welfare programs (with special reference to J & K), Social Policy, Social legislations, Labour Welfare and related legislations, Women and Child Welfare,  Human Resource Management, and Organisational Behaviour. Concurrent to academic lectures, we are required to complete our Field Work in each semester; in various government and non-government institutions. This might as well give the readers a fair idea about the scope of this discipline and would help to melt their doubts regarding the competence of Social Workers as professionals in various settings. We are trained to have optimum knowledge about all possible phenomena that we may face or interact with.
Social Work, as distinct from social service; is a job undertaken by professionally trained social workers, also called “Development Professionals”, for which they are duly paid. As is true for social service, or philanthropy, social work is not an unpaid job.  Even as social work is an important discipline, there is no college or university in the valley offering a bachelor’s course in Social Work. The introduction of the said course in colleges is a must. It would further strengthen the roots of social work education in the valley and this course would get its due place and recognition. Secondly, the number of trained social workers in the valley, where we have almost 35 pass outs of Social Work every year from K.U., add to it students pursuing the same course from outside Kashmir, is more than ample to further train and educate students desirous of pursuing the course at bachelor’s level. Thirdly, this would check unemployment and brain drain outside the state.
Another funny thing that has come to my notice is that whenever the Social Welfare Department or the District Rural Health Societies advertise posts for counselors, or supervisors, they either mention that they need a post graduate in any subject (including science subjects) or at times, a post graduate in any humanities discipline. As such, people having PG degrees in Botany, Zoology, Chemistry, Sociology, Psychology etc. are eligible for the same post where a trained counselor, or a person having a degree in Rural Development should ideally be. Going by the content, the Social Work discipline incorporates studies in the given requirements. Even so, if a post graduate in Social Work applies, the poor chap is asked to get an equivalence certificate and/or an eligibility certificate stating that the said person is eligible for the said post.
Point one- How can a PG Social Work be considered equivalent to any other degree in humanities when it is an entirely different field of study? 
Point two- When there is a department offering the said course through a recognized and prestigious university like the University of Kashmir, and if one has all the valid documents reiterating the same, then why are we supposed to prove our eligibility? I wonder who apart from trained Social Workers are more eligible to join Social Welfare Services.
When we are educated and trained for welfare services, there should not be an iota of doubt regarding our eligibility for it. Everywhere nowadays, the stress is laid on specialization and when there is an abundance of it, we don't require some irrational confrontation on this count.
Social Work is a licensed profession. But owing to its relatively immature state in India, here it is not practiced by every second man as a part-time activity. This explains the mushrooming of countless unregistered and fake non-government organizations that are simple money-minting organisations. Making Social Work a licensed profession will considerably reduce the number of such fake enterprises and will increase the credibility of voluntary and government welfare services. Let’s also have a sound recruitment policy for the social workers.

(Amira Wali is an MSW student from University of Kashmir)

Lastupdate on : Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:30:00 Mecca time
Lastupdate on : Fri, 18 Jun 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sat, 19 Jun 2010 00:00:00 IST