Re: Social workers boycotting the examination

[Guest guest]

Re: Social workers boycotting the examination

Dear FORUM,

Re: /message/8357

I had mixed feelings about this news report of social workers

boycotting the examination at Roshni Nilaya. I will try to articulate

this from the different hats I wear: those of social worker, AIDS

worker, and social work educator.

Since many participants on this forum use the two terms

interchangeably, I would like to distinguish 'counsellor' from

social worker because I am not sure how many counsellors mentioned in

the article actually hold degrees in social work, in contrast with

other disciplines like sociology and psychology. This matters because

the disciplinary training is quite different.

As an AIDS worker, I endorse the need to ensure that our HIV services

offer the best possible professional help - and this means courteous,

well-trained and well-equipped staff. Ongoing training is an integral

component to this.

Given recent press disclosures of NGOs with poor performance, I

believe that transparency is really important - as are constant

efforts to improve and upgrade capacity of organizations and

individuals.

The Express News Service report left me with many questions.

1) Re this screening process followed by a grading system: Are only

the counsellors being tested? Or is there also a test for laboratory

technicians? For AIDS clinicians? For AIDS nurses? Continuing

education and accreditation is not the responsibility solely of one

profession.

2) What is the background to the " screening " test? " Screening " is

usually an entry-level process. Are the counsellors justified in

their concerns at losing their jobs if they perform poorly at this

test? Or is the intention to have follow-up training to make sure

that people who have a C grade gradually reach up to the level of an

A grade?

3) Is there really an attempt to eliminate the number of trained

professionals in the AIDS sector? Should we not be trying to make

sure that we expand this critical area rather than diminish it?

4) If there is a need to downsize, then is the downsizing uniform

across all professional positions? Or are only the counsellors facing

the axe?

I have been involved with professional bodies of trained social

workers (that is MSW/ BSW) for several years. My experience of social

workers in India is that while we have the knowledge and skills to

help others organize, we rarely turn this knowledge to our own

benefit. So the report of people demonstrating at a school of social

work caused me to wonder about the level of personal concern that the

counsellors might be experiencing. As a fellow social worker, I also

experienced a slight smidgeon of professional pride that a group of

counsellors finally organized on some issue.

To outsiders to the profession of social work, it might be important

to note that social work in India does not have a tradition of

ongoing professional education. My stand is that we need this. And

there are efforts both in the Bombay networks and the New Delhi

networks to establish an Indian Council of Social Work (on the lines

of the councils for medicine). While the bill went up to parliament,

it did not make it all the way through. In the absence of such a

tradition of continuing education, it might be more understandable

why people fear being graded. To the outsiders, I'd like to say,

please respect our profession enough to let us regulate ourselves. To

fellow social workers, I'd like to say, please let us resurrect our

bill for self-regulation. We are already moving into the world of

evidence-based practice. Let us lead the way, rather than be dragged.

To the counsellors, I'd like to say, if your jobs were not at stake,

don't you think it would be a good idea to learn new things? The rate

at which the pandemic is progressing, there are new ideas that we

must incorporate all the time.

From a systemic perspective, we know from a study on professional

social work education in the State of Maharashtra that different

schools of social work have different levels of resources available

to train students. This might cause graduates of different places to

have differing levels of competence. I'm sure that other disciplinary

training programmes may also be judged by the same metric. So the

notion of equalizing the skill level of all staff at a certain

position is a worthy one. But I'd be happier delinking it from firing

decisions.

Sincerely

Melita Vaz

Currently doctoral student in social work

Previously Secretary, Bombay Association of Trained Social Workers

Previously Ad-hoc Lecturer, Tata Institute of Social Sciences

e-mail: vazm@...