We are a group of school principals and like everyone else in the community, we welcome the decision by the Government to implement the 'one school, one social worker' policy.
However, a number of principals are unhappy, not with the policy itself, but with the implementation strategy proposed by the Social Welfare Department.
We are victims of the rigid and bureaucratic methods the department intends to employ, to implement the policy. It is acting with indecent haste and has given no thought to the actual harm being done to the social work service in schools.
The policy will be implemented over a two-year period, so why do all schools have to terminate the present service in September? There should be a grace period, in order to ensure a smooth transition. It takes years to build up respect and trust and ensure a harmonious relationship between the school and its social work service. So, it is unfair that decisions are being thrust upon our schools, unilaterally and against our will, and schools are being cut off from a service that they may be happy with and wish to maintain.
We would rather have a partial service of our own choosing than a full service without any freedom of choice. We are entitled to freedom of choice. It is a basic human right. We should be allowed to reject social workers allocated to a school where the school was not allowed to choose.
If the department refuses to improve the way it proposes to implement the policy, then schools should be allowed to stick with the present arrangements, until resources can be found to implement the 'one school, one social worker' policy in a proper and efficient manner.