19 Jul 2022

 Only one out of 622 social workers under the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development has been trained in childhood studies, Assistant Minister Mabule Pule has said.

“My ministry accounts for an establishment of 622 social workers who are spread throughout the 16 local authorities, ministry headquarters as well as 27 government hospitals across the country.

From the 622 qualified social workers, 16 possess master’s degree in social work or related fields such as psychotherapy and counselling, 427 possess bachelor’s degree in social work and other disciplines such as psychology and sociology, 177 hold diploma in social work and we only have two who have certificate in social work. My ministry has one social worker who has specialised training in childhood studies,” he said

However, Mr Pule noted that social workers who had undergone university training were equipped to deal with children’s issues.

He further said there were on the job training for social workers to capacitate them in that regard.

He also noted that there were child psychologists in the country, even though they were not under his ministry.

He said they collaborated with the Ministry of Health whenever there was need for psychologists’ expertise and intervention.

Additionally, Mr Pule said government had sent some social workers for post graduate studies while at the same time providing support to those who obtained other sponsorships to upgrade their qualifications.

Gaborone Central MP, Mr Tumisang Healy wanted the minister to update Parliament on the total number of social workers in Botswana and their qualifications.

He also wanted to know how many of them had received specialised training to deal with issues that involved minors, and if Botswana had child psychologists and their number, if any.

Mr Healy also enquired on what the government was doing to up-skill social workers with higher educational attainments, specialised training and progression in their fields to be able to effectively provide assistance, especially to children. BOPA