Gross Enrollment Rate for Social Work Education and Career Prospective in India

The study aims to analyse the students' gross enrollment rate in social work education and the career prospects in India. The purpose of the study was to compare enrollment in social work education institutions (SWEIs) in India, analyse the status of social work education in India, and draw recommendations for social work education in India based on AISHE 2015-16 to 2020-21 reports. A multi-stage methodology was adopted to map Social Work Education Institutions (SWEIs) in India and time series data from the All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) from 2015 to 2020 reports were analysed to find out the trend for Social Work Education in India.The study found that to make India an Atmanirbar (self-reliant), the role of Social Work professionals is vital and envisaged how the National Education Policy 2020(NEP-2020) has created ample opportunity for School Social Workers and also drew recommendations to transform Social Work education with indigenous knowledge to robust Social Work praxis at field level. The findings provide evidence of the trend of social work education in India. The NEP 2020 has brought momentum for social work professional education by introducing school social worker posts; however, there are many issues with regard to a common curriculum with indigenous fieldwork practice across India. Furthermore, NGOs and industrial collaborations in curriculum development must be strengthened.