Pietermaritzburg - More than 180 social workers have been recruited to be based in especially rural areas in KwaZulu-Natal.
There has been a backlog of skilled social workers in the province and it's hoped the move will ease this.
Addressing the newly appointed social workers on Tuesday, MEC for Social Development Meshack Radebe said they were appointed permanently by the department after completing their studies at the Universities of Zululand and KwaZulu-Natal.
The students formed part of the department's scholarship programme which is aimed at helping underprivileged students who cannot afford tertiary education.
"We wanted to increase the number of social workers in the province, because we don't have enough of them. By offering the scholarships to students, we hope we will be able to fight the backlog of the social workers in KwaZulu-Natal," said Mr Radebe.
The department hopes to continue with this programme until they have enough social workers in all the districts of the province.
Speaking to BuaNews, newly appointed social worker, Thembelihle Mbhele, said the department came to her rescue after completing her matric, when she got selected for the scholarship.
"I would like to thank the provincial government for helping those students who are needy, but eager to study.
"Some of us came from families where there is only one breadwinner, others are orphans. We hope the department will continue to help the students who want to continue with their studies but have no money," said Ms Mbhele.
Ms Mbhele said they were prepared to serve the people of the province especially in the rural communities, who were left behind for many years.
The newly appointed social workers will take to their jobs in Nongoma, Nkandla, Ngwavuma, Msinga and Kokstad. Last year, the department recruited 208 social workers.
"Next year we are going to recruit 400 social workers, so the students who want to do social work, but don't have funds, must apply for the department's scholarship programme," said Mr Radebe.
He also urged all the newly appointed social workers to work closely with the department, to help improve the communities.
