A cross section of participants at the event
Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mrs Uzamat Akinbile-Yussuf disclosed this at the weekend at the sensitization and awareness programme for stakeholders in school social work, held at the State Government Secretariat, Alausa, in Ikeja, Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.
The commissioner disclosed that the state presently had 200 social workers to man all schools in Lagos State, saying this was grossly inadequate and hinted that government was planning to employ more in a bid to nip child abuse in the bud in schools.
She said the employment of more social workers in public schools would help in counseling and addressing social problems in schools.
Akinbile-Yussuf said that the state government had put in place strategies to address all forms of abuses in the state’s schools.
“If you are being violated in any form and you cannot tell your parent, the social workers are there in schools to relate with you; the matter will be unraveled. I agree that we don’t have enough but I can assure you that the current administration of Governor Ambode is working to ensure that we have them in all schools. At present, we are having 200 social workers,so, we are employing more of social workers to work in all our schools,” she said.
On the theme of the meeting: “Proper Integration of School Social Work Service in the Education system of Lagos State,” Deputy Governor of the State, Dr. Oluranti Adebule said the theme was apt and expressed confidence that all forms of social vices in the schools would be reduced.
She described school social work as a branch of social work, charged with the responsibility of linking the school, the home, the community and students to achieve academic success and emotional balance.
“School Social Work Service is the process of helping School Children facing challenges of abuses and engaging in social vices that could be detrimental to their educational career. It therefore becomes imperative that the school social workers engage daily with school administrators, teachers, parents and members of the community to provide guidelines for forming school policies, identifying crisis, reporting and addressing same in a way that is culturally acceptable and render other social support services in the best interest of the school child,” she said.
Also, the Lagos Chief Magistrate, Mrs Sheri Sholebo said there had been more reportage of sexual abuses at the family court in the state, saying that parents had begun to know their right as they now come forward to report sexual abuses against their wards.
She said several cases on sexual abuses were being tried at the family court as those found culpable would be punished severely in accordance with the laws of the land.
In her lecture titled: “Proper Integration of School Social Work Services in Lagos State Education System,” Professor Oluwayemisi Obashoro-John of the Department of Adult Education, University of Lagos, charged the parent to pay special attention to their wards.
The University don appealed to the state government to engage more social workers in school, saying most schools in Nigeria had few or no social workers in spite of the increasing need for them to counsel and educate the children.
She said available data revealed that Lagos State had 10,991 primary schools, with 968,249 pupils in them and 3,199 junior and secondary schools with 832,560 students in them, but lamented that each Education Districts in Lagos had 200 schools with only one social worker to man them, saying this was grossly inadequate.
According to her, the challenges faced in the social work issue included poverty, lack of social workers or untrained personnel, lack of requisite training, among others.
Also, State Commissioner for Home Affairs, Abdullateef Abdulhakeem charged students to be alert and be conscious of the people around them, urging them to be careful of the friends they keep.
-Kazeem Ugbodaga
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