Forced redundancies from a proposed restructuring of the
University of Otago social work department should come only
as a last resort, department staff are urging.
University authorities have proposed restructuring the
university social work and community development department,
with some staff cuts, partly to reduce a recent $300,000
operating deficit for the department.
It employs about 10 full-time equivalent staff.
The Otago Daily Times has obtained a report which the
department's staff submitted last month to humanities acting
pro-vice-chancellor Associate Prof Sue Court, responding to a
university proposal to bring social work and two other
academic disciplines together in a new combined department.
Social work staff said any redundancies should be voluntary,
until measures had been taken to make other savings and boost
funding.
The necessity of retaining "practice expertise and
administrative staff" within the new department should also
be recognised.
The new grouping should be called the social work, sociology
and gender studies department, social work staff said, and
they were "perplexed" by the earlier proposed "sociology,
gender studies and social work" title.
Social work was "the largest and most established" of the
three disciplines at Otago and had been a standalone
department for the past 10 years.
"Social work has significantly higher EFTS (equivalent
full-time students) than sociology and gender studies, and an
established postgraduate programme," staff said.
Despite that submission, the university senate last month
recommended a new department be created, retaining the
initially suggested sociology, gender studies and social work
title.
The Otago University Council will consider the recommendation
at a meeting next Tuesday.
Asked about concerns about the proposed name of the new
department and about redundancies, university officials said
no final decisions had been taken, and it was premature to
comment.
Department staff said it was "vital to maintain the core
functions" of the social work department in meeting the
country's needs for social workers "educated to the highest
university standards".
"Social work serves the disenfranchised and the vulnerable."
Producing qualified social workers in the present economic
times was "more important than ever", and the country faced a
genuine skill shortage and recruitment and retention problems
in social work.
- john.gibb@odt.co.nz
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