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A judge has described the unlawful dismissal of a Divine Word University employee as inhumane and indecent.
Resident Madang judge Justice David Cannings also said the manner in which the university decided to sack George Podas in August 2008 “stinks”.
Cannings, who heads the national and supreme court of PNG’s human rights tract, said there were proper, decent and Christian-like ways to tell an employee of his or her sacking.
“The court has so far focussed on the legal issues but every case, especially a wrongful dismissal case, has a human dimension,” he said. “I think the university needs reminding of this.
“Wouldn’t the decent thing to do is to call him into the office and explain why this decision was being made instead of handing him an envelope while he was in the middle of doing his work, containing a letter, telling him abruptly that he was being sacked immediately?” said Cannings
Divine Word University is a national Catholic university in Papua New Guinea. It is one of the newest tertiary institutions in the country. It was established as a university by an Act of Parliament in 1996. The university is ecumenical and coeducational, and is under the leadership of the Divine Word Missionaries.
Its first educational institution was Divine Word Secondary High School. In 1980, this became Divine Word Institute, established by an Act of Parliament.
It is based in Madang on the north coast of Papua New Guinea.
Divine Word University has six faculties. These are Arts, Business, Education, Health, Theology, and Flexible Learning. The University offers undergraduate degrees as well as Masters programs in most Faculties, and the PhD. Masters and PhD programs can be done on a full time basis or off campus in distance mode by occasional attendance and work completion.
The university is amalgamating and affiliating with a number of institutions to provide a broader base of education. In April 2002, the College of Allied Health Sciences (Madang) amalgamated and St Benedict’s Teachers College, East Sepik Province joined in August, 2003. These institutions are now campuses of DWU
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