Social work degree on the verge of obsoletion Irum Sabeen
Social work as a profession emerged during the second half of the 19th century and today the profession is charged with fulfilling the social welfare mandate of promoting the well-being and quality of life of human being. Thus, social work encompasses activities directed toward improving human social conditions and alleviating human sufferings.
In Pakistan, social work was initially introduced at the University of Punjab (Lahore) in 1954 and at the moment about 19 universities in the country are offering the subject ranging from Bachelors to PhD level.
Social work is an applied social science. It is not only theoretically taught but effective practical training is also a compulsory part of this subject. The students are trained on how to deal with the people in different areas in the community alongside their expected work scope in different fields of life. Such students are well-versed with the planning and implementation of the reform projects which may bring very positive changes in the community leading towards the development of the society as well. As a profession, so far, social work has been found very effective in the country.
Unfortunately with the passage of time and due to weak policies by the concerned authorities, this subject is not receiving the attention of the higher authorities it used to get in the past. There is utmost need to rescue this discipline on war footing and one such rescue strategy could be the creation of a professional council for promoting social work at the government level.
Social work is a profession to help people overcome their problems. Social work has been found more important in the communities with large number of social issues. When we look at the international level where social issues are not at their peak, social work, as a profession, has been given desirable importance and practiced as a very effective tool in uplifting the life quality of the communities. In Pakistan, where social issues are gradually increasing, unfortunately role of qualified professional social workers has not been brought in frontline to cope up with the situation. On the other hand, if this ‘social work’ degree will be given desirable recognition and support by concerned authorities, it would be a great addition to the health sector reforms. In the community, if they are given a chance, they can work effectively to control the major issues of our society especially child abuse, increasing divorce rate and drug addiction (especially in educational institutions) at the large.
By adopting ‘social work’ profession in its true sense, we can utilise the services of qualified social workers very effectively in diversified manner for the betterment of life quality here in Pakistan.
To strengthen the academic effectiveness of this degree, there is a need to include some more subjects with respect to the need of the time and more concentration on their field work is required. To solve the specified issues being faced by qualified social workers in Pakistan, there is a dire need of establishing a ‘Council of Qualified Social Workers’ which can not only support this neglected subject but would work for the promotion of this profession in the country. Being a distinguished white-collar profession, this sector is still lacking desired recognition and importance among other professions especially in health, education and welfare sectors. There is a need to raise the voice for this basic right so that in future the students of this degree would have some safe and secure career in their professional life without facing any such challenges which at the moment the qualified social workers are coping with. Favourable policy making is also required at the higher levels for the survival of this profession besides the review of existing policies and alterations made or suggested by PMDC.
Article source: https://nation.com.pk/21-Mar-2021/social-work-degree-on-the-verge-of-obsoletion-irum-sabeen