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Medicine and Health Science to Receive Awards

The School of Medicine and Health Sciences is understaffed as doctors have left their teaching positions.

In an exclusive interview with EMTV News, staff say they are still waiting for a response from the government to address their outstanding awards.

They say they will continue to teach at the university; however they are running out of patience with the national government.

The award is a memorandum of agreement between the Department of Personnel Management, and the National Doctors Association.

The purpose of the MOA was in response to claims made by the National Doctors Association to improve the terms and work conditions of doctors in the public sector.

The idea of the MOA was to make terms and conditions more competitive with doctors in the private sector, and provide incentives for improved productivity and performance, applied to all national medical doctors and dentists classified under the public service.

The SHMS academic staff say while other members of the NDA have been given their awards, SMHS are still awaiting theirs.

They have brought the matter to the attention of the University of Papua New Guinea, and have received positive feedback however, numerous meetings with DPM and the Chief Secretary have left them uncertain. They say they are yet to receive a written agreement from the national government.

The lack of response from the government has caused a series of effects on the academic staff.

Some doctors have left their teaching positions; this has caused the university to be understaffed leaving some medical field classes with one lecturer to teach the entire discipline.

The School of Medicine and Health Science has 29 academic staff, this includes professors, senior lecturers and lecturers who cover around 600 students.

Meanwhile, EMTV News spoke to Health Secretary, Pascoe Kase, this morning who said a meeting that was held at the end of last week with the DPM and the Chief Secretary had decided to honor the awards.

Mr Kase said any outstanding from the NDA Awards that the university lecturers, especially the doctors, that are not receiving it would be paid in lump sum in 2017.

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