Social work in Punjab

THIS is with reference to the article by Harinderbir Kaur on “relevance of social work as subject” published on November 16. It is rightly pointed out that social work as a subject is not new. It is a semi-professional subject. It has tremendous career options.

Social workers after taking professional training — a degree in social work — can take up a lucrative career. In industry, they are many times paid equivalent to the payments made to an MBA and work as HRD or Personnel Managers. According to labour laws, most of the industries having a labour force of 500 or more are expected to keep a welfare officer who should be an MSW.

Being taught basic psychology and sociology, the trained social workers are in a better position to understand the stress and strains that have become customary in the contemporary world. In bigger cities most of the prestigious schools keep social workers to provide better service to students and the staff.

Openings for social workers exist at the national level in institutions like the Central Social Welfare Board (CSWB), The National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development (NIPCCD) and the Indian Council for Child Welfare (ICCW). Social workers are preferred for jobs in government welfare programmes as social welfare officers, district social security officers, probationary officers in jails, etc. Most of the NGOs working directly in the areas of funding, planning, policy making as well as human resource management do prefer social workers.

Most trained social workers are found working in NGOs many of whom are non-profit making voluntary organisations. The NGO sector offers diverse career options in social work. One could opt for agencies (there are international agencies like the UNHCR, UNICEF the (WHO, Care India, the Christian Children Funds (CCF), etc) which even support active NGOs with functions in specific areas such as health and family planning child welfare, old age care and housing for destitutes. Some of these organisations come with a touch of corporate culture offering almost the same level of salaries and perks to skilled professionals.

Thus good material returns do exist for the committed and the skilled if they so desire. One can always shift to the development sector, take up a job in a development bank or work for a UN agency or secure an international placement. Alternatively, one can set up one’s own NGO after gaining relevant experience or work as a consultant.

As rightly pointed out, in Punjab social work is being taught only in the Department of Social Work, Punjabi University, Patiala. A few of our students are placed in various corporate sectors and NGOs. They are working with JCT Mills Phagwara, Adinath Textiles, Shreyans, Nahar group, etc. Some are working in government as well as private hospitals as hospital social workers/counsellors like Rajindra Hospital and Saket in Patiala, Government Medical College, Faridkot, and even in PGI, Chandigarh. A few are placed in voluntary organisations like the Red Cross at Hoshiarpur, Jullundhar, Goraya, etc. They are even employed at prestigious posts like the district Social Security Officer (DSSO). Many students work in various research projects in different welfare programmes.

Looking at the scope of social work at the dawn of the next millennium, there is need for more schools of social work to open in Punjab as in other states like Maharashtra there are more than five-six departments as well as schools of social work. There is great need for generating awareness among common people, parents and professionals about social work as subject.

U.K. ANAND POPLI
Chandigarh

Ignoring education

The Malwa Education Council, Bondli-Samrala, was set up in 1965 with the joint efforts of the inhabitants of the Ilaqa to cater to the needs of the students with rural background in particular. The Punjab Government, while appreciating the efforts made by the general public, had accorded 95 per cent financial aid to this college so that it could achieve the objectives set forth by the founder-members headed by the late S. Ajmer Singh Kang, then Cabinet Minister of Punjab. This aid was sanctioned to the college in 1977. The college turned out a number of brilliant students during this period who are, at present, contributing substantially to the welfare of society in general.

The present government has also been sanctioning the above financial aid for the college regularly. This requires mention that there are about 140 colleges in the state which are covered under the 95 per cent deficit grant-in-aid scheme and are governed by the managements of the non-government private affiliated aided colleges. The managements of this college and other such colleges have been playing a very active and positive role for the furtherance of education in the state. Indirectly, it saves a lot of financial burden of the government as well.

But something seems to have gone wrong during 1999, since the financial aid is not being disbursed to these colleges. For the last six months no salary grant has been released. No doubt, the tercentenary celebration of the birth of the Khalsa has been an important milestone in the history of this state, the educational aspect should not have been neglected in a stepmotherly manner.

UMRAO SINGH KANG,
President, Malwa Education Council
Bondli (Samrala)