National Polytechnic director dies

THE  National Polytechnic Institute of Papua New Guinea – formerly Lae Technical College – is mourning the death of its director Mathew Piruruho.
The late Mr Piruruho was undergoing medical treatment in Port Moresby when he died last Thursday evening.
He had been sick for a long time.
Mr Piruruho joined the then Lae Technical College in 1995 as a senior lecturer in mechanical engineering and later became the head of the department of mechanical engineering.
In 1996, he was appointed deputy principal academic for a short time before transferring to Port Moresby where he was appointed inspector for mechanical engineering studies in technical colleges under the Technical and Vocational Education and Training Division of the Department of Education.
In 1999, Mr Piruruho was appointed principal of the Lae Technical College and remained in that post until the college became the country’s first polytechnic institute last year.
Mr Piruruho is originally from Siwai in South Bougainville.
He is survived by his wife and six children.
The governing council of the National Polytechnic Institute met last Friday after receiving news of his death and decided that the body will be brought to Lae for an official funeral service and farewell before it is flown to Buka and then to his home for burial.
The body will be flown to Lae tomorrow where it will then be taken to the institute for a special programme organised by the institute.
Staff, students, relatives, governing council members, representatives of other education institutions in Lae and the community will pay their last respects during that special programme at the institute.
At 1.30pm, the body will be transferred to the United church at Cassowary Road in Lae for an official funeral service.
The body will overnight in his house at the institute before being flown to Buka on Thursday.
The late Mr Piruruho has been described as a man who has been an inspiration to many for his humble approach to life and doing things.