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Lagos celebrates 'School Social Work Day'

Students, teachers, parents and public officers in Lagos State gathered at the Adeyemi Bero Auditorium, Alausa on Wednesday, to celebrate the first School Social Work Day. The Special Adviser to the governor on Youth, Sports and Social Development, Dolapo Badru said the event was organised to educate the populace on the role of social workers in schools. According to an official of the Ministry of Youth, Sports and Social Development who is also a school social worker, social workers recently started work in a few public schools in the state. The Commissioner in charge of the ministry, Ademola Adeniji-Adele said the introduction of social workers in schools will help students out of social vices. "It is no longer news that some students have cultivated the habit of truancy to school, cultism, taking dope and gambling. Some engage in armed robbery, yahoo yahoo, 419 and other vices. These students need the help of professional social workers," Mr. Adeniji -Adele said. He also appealed to the Deputy Governor who oversees the Ministry of Education to extend the services of social workers to all public schools in Lagos State and advised the social workers to get set for greater challenges ahead. In response to a controversy between school guidance counsellors and school social workers, Mr. Badru said the introduction of the social workers is not a threat to the guidance counsellors; rather it is to compliment their work.. Wole Suenu, a lecturer at the Department of History and International Relations at the Lagos State University, delivered a lecture titled: After the theme of the day: School Social Work: A Catalyst of Adolescent Behavioural Problems in Lagos State. He said the duties of school guidance counsellors are mainly to advise students on courses and provide career guidance, while school social workers solve the social problems of students, even beyond the school environment. "The social creates a liaison between the home, the school and the community," Mr. Suenu said. He also advised the state government to train some teachers, specially, for social work and to also employ qualified social workers. The Lagos State Schools Theatrical Troupe presented a drama at the occasion to showcase the importance of social workers in schools. © Fintastique | Dreamstime.com  Source: NEXT « back