Shri Narendra Modi
Hon’ble Prime Minister,
Government of India
New Delhi

Dear Sir
Greetings

This is to request you to consider the request of professionally qualified social workers to enact a law to establish a National Council for Social Work Education in India.

• Social work is currently taught as an academic discipline in colleges and universities spread over 145 countries. Most of these countries have a National Council for Social Work. In Asia, India has pioneered social work education and training programmes way back in 1936 and it has yet to be recognized as a profession in our country.
• The establishment of council will help to enhance quality in social work education, including its linkages with practice, knowledge, and ethical conduct; and to create national registers of accredited social work education institutions and programmes.
• India is the second largest country in the world having 526+ social work educational institutions offering social work education programmes in the central, state, private & deemed universities and colleges in most of the states and union territories.
• Social work in India is well known as an academic discipline and is regarded as one of the best job-oriented courses in the university system at different levels - undergraduate, post-graduate and research. Almost three fourth of the students get jobs soon after the completion of the course in government and non government social sectors as well as in the corporate sector.
• As per report of the All India Survey of Higher Education 2018-19, more than one lakh students are enrolled in BSW and MSW courses in 2018-19. Over five lakh professional social workers are estimated to be currently working with civil society organisations, government, corporate sector, and hospital and health sectors as well as with the other welfare/developmental agencies at the state, regional, national and international levels
• Professional social workers have been recognized for various jobs under various legislations. A few prominent ones are: Welfare Officer under factories Act, 1947 (Sec 49), counsellors under The Family Courts Act, 1984 (Sec 6), The Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015 (Sec 4), Psychiatric Social Workers under the Mental Healthcare Act 2017 (Sec 43), Transplant coordinators under Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Act 2014 (Sec29).In the recently legislated The National Commission for Allied and Healthcare Professions Act, 2021, Social workers including Clinical Social Worker, Psychiatric Social Worker, Medical Social Workers are brought under category of Behavioural Health Sciences Professional.
• Professional social workers are playing an important role in managing relief and rehabilitation in disasters/pandemic. During COVID -19, the community of professional social workers has made a significant contribution for providing essential and emergency support services including awareness.
• A large number of social workers are involved in the fields of child protection, criminal justice, mental health, women victims of violence, community development, drug de addiction, legal systems and alternate dispute redressal, empowering processes, social reform, and social actions. There are many other fields where social workers are making important contribution.
• The First and Second review committees sponsored by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 1965 and 1980 respectively on social work education recommended setting up a National Council of Social Work Education to strengthen social work education in the country.

We herewith request you to consider the long pending demand of Indian professional social workers community for a National Council for Social Work Education in India.

With hopes and wishes,
Yours sincerely