South Africa: The real test of the social work profession in its response to local needs |
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Durban - Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya has challenged delegates attending the International Schools of Social Work Congress to look at ways of improving the relevance of studies in social work to meet the increasing demand for services.
"The current socio-economic situation in Africa and all over the world calls for a complete rethinking of social work education, we need the cooperation of institutions of higher learning to re-look at the way that training is provided and devise means to accelerate the training of social workers to meet the increasing demand for services," Minister Skweyiya said.
Speaking on Monday at the 34th congress held at Inkosi Albert Luthuli International Convention Centre, Minister Skweyiya said that while the priority is to train many social work professionals, particular attention should also be given to the quality of education and the way in which the students are prepared to respond to the realities outside the classroom.
"Measures could include the development of social curriculums that address pertinent issues in society and provide practical training with strong focus on interaction between students and communities they are expected to serve," said the minister.
The 34th congress, which is the first event in Africa, is hosted by the Department of Social Development in partnership with the Association of South African Social Work Educators Institutions.
The five-day congress which started on 20 July would provide opportunities for delegates across the African continent to discuss common issues, particularly the relevance of the content of social work training in meeting the needs of vulnerable populations in developing countries.
Minister Skweyiya said that the real test of the social work profession's contribution lies in its response to the local needs, adding that training and related practice should be consistent with and responsive to environmental, cultural and ideological variability of a people.
He noted that social workers are the first port of call for families in distress, which makes social work training an important area of focus.
"From its historical beginnings and intervention models such as casework, group work and community development, the profession has been focused more on the protection of the most vulnerable people and the promotion of human rights issues.
"However, I believe that the profession also has a central role to play in the attainment of national and international priorities such as the Millennium Development Goals, we should then seriously look into a developmental role for social work," he said.
He further said the mandate of social work is to advance principles of social justice by creating opportunities for people to be self-reliant and mitigate against poverty.
The minister also noted an acute shortage of social service professionals, which hinders the department's ability to meet the increasing demand for developmental social services.
"Recognising the central role of the profession in the attainment of national priorities such as poverty alleviation and social cohesion, social work has been declared a scarce skill in South Africa," he said.
He added that for a very long time, social work services in South Africa were overshadowed by the provision of social security grants.
"To date more than 12 million South African receives social grants, one of the greatest achievements of the democratic South Africa.
"We have since created the South African Social Security Agency to administer social grants, thus freeing the national and provincial departments of social development to focus more on improving the quality of social work services," Minister Skweyiya said.
Compiled by the Government Communication and Information System
By Gabi Khumalo, Bua News
In welcoming the Minister to speak, IFSW President David N Jones thanked him for his support for the development of the new association in South Africa and for his understanding of social work.
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page last updated on 22.07.2008
