The Tanzania Emerging Social Workers Education Programme (TESWEP) has started to introduce a new teaching curriculum of social work programmes in order to implement a Bachelors of Arts in Social Work as well as Master’s degree in Social Work. The chairman of TESWEP, Dr Naftali Ng’ondi, said at the General Meeting hosted by the Tanzania Association of Social Workers – a member of IFSW – that TESWEP has already changed the face of social work education through its accomplished activities and that the way to do so was through provision of a standard and globally recognized social work education.
The Dean at the Faculty of Arts and Social Science at Zanzibar University, Mr Mohammed Jiddawy, said the concept of Social Work programmes in Zanzibar is new to majority of Zanzibaris. He continued stating that social workers play an important role when tragedies occur. For example social workers could have reduced psychological problems among the victims of the tragedy, when the MV Spice Islander I, a passenger ferry sank off the coast of Zanzibarof last year. 2967 people were reported missing or dead and only 203 bodies were recovered and 619 passengers rescued.
Dr Ibun Kombo, a lecturer of the University, reinforced the Dean’s statement by saying that it is very important for universities countrywide to offer programmes linked with social work so as to get many experts who can play a pivotal role when various social problems arise.