PTU News Reporter
Community College of City University (CCCU) announced in February that starting from 2016/17, parttime mode of the Associate of Social Science in Social Work Program would no longer be accept new students. A group of program students and graduates have therefore organized a “Concern Group on the Associate of Social Science in Social Work Program of CCCU” to struggle for retaining the program and they have asked Fung Wai-wah (President of HKPTU) and Ip Kin-yuen (Representative of Legco)’s assistance in this matter. Finally, CCCU decided on 27 April that the Associate of Social Science in Social Work Program would continue to operate in the coming school year and the recruitment of students would start after the final accreditation of Social Workers Registration Board.
Ip received the request of assistance from the Concern Group in March and in mid-March he met the representatives of CCCU and the Concern Group. Students of the Concern Group said that this program which had been providing frontline workers in the social welfare sector with an opportunity of further studies was thus very popular in the sector of social welfare. Moreover, this program is currently the only one part-time associate program in social work in Hong Kong and therefore the concern group was worried that the discontinuance of this program would be harmful to the training pathway for the field of social work. The Concern Group has therefore staged a sit-in and demonstration in the campus of City University to fight for the retaining of the program.
Later, upon the invitation of the Concern Group, Fung met the representatives of the Concern Group and CCCU on 7 April where the two sides could exchange their opinions and CCCU could explain to the Concern Group the reasons for the discontinuance of the program. We are looking forward that the two sides could find a mutually beneficial solution in the meeting. Finally CCCU decided to retain this part-time program, but the number of school places will be decreased from 50 to 36 to fulfill the requirement of Social Workers Registration Board on the teacher-student ratio. The recruitment of students can only start when the program is finally accredited by the Board. Our Union welcomes CCCU’s final resolution and congratulates the students and alumni of the Concern Group on their successful campaign.
