The Story of Madras School of Social Work : Part 2

School of Social Work Sabotaging Social Work 

An unimaginable action from the authorities of MSSW in 1999. To terminate the MA (SW) course. South India's first school of social work tried to destroy social work education. People who took this dangerous step was a former President of the Association of Schools of Social Work in India and his associates. It is like the child trying to kill the parent. Mary Clubwala Jadhav's historic contribution and the outstanding performance of the hundreds of social work graduates of MSSW for nearly 50 years were to be undone by a reckless attempt for purely personal and other unacceptable reasons. The attempted disruptive effort was resisted by students and some former students. They succeeded in stalling the academic homicide. Some of the former students were co-opted into the Board of Management of MSSW. This period will remain the darkest period in the history of social work education in India.

Another undesirable action was starting an MBA programme during the same period in association with the Missouri University of USA: one year course in MSSW and one year in Missouri. A self-financing or money making enterprise in crude language! Madras School of Social Work was the only school of social work to start an MBA in the country.The ethos, philosophy,orientation and thrust of social work are at variance from those of business administration. A school of social work cannot be a business school. An International School of Management Studies (ISMS) was created to hoodwink the gullible onlookers.But the All India Council of Technical Education (AICTE) did not recognise this course. Then the MSSW management applied for permission to start an MBA " in the name and style of MSSW" to the AICTE in June 2006,which was rejected. MSSW management ,then,filed a writ petition before the Madras High Court in 2007. The High Court asked AICTE to reconsider the request of MSSW.A committee of experts visited in 2007 and found the MSSW proposal unacceptable. MSSW approached AICTE again stating that the deficiencies pointed out were rectified. AICTE sent another Inspection Committee in 2008 which also did not favour the MSSW proposal. So another writ petition was filed in March,2011 to quash the AICTE order ,which is now pending before the High Court. Instead of wasting time and resources of the MSSW for an undeserving cause,the present controllers of the school could have spared some time and funds for humanitarian service. That is what social work is about.

Mr. K.N.George needs to do some serious introspection regarding his prominent role in initiating the decline of MSSW. It is an irony that the institution builder has become the institution destroyer . Sir, social work history in India will not forgive you.