5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to consider the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges like a worthwhile and viable alternate for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was speaking throughout an oversight visit on the post-school education and coaching (PSET) institutions during the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as critical for job creation and youth skills development inside the country.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and the Cape Peninsula {University of Engineering (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed at evaluating the point out of readiness of greater education institutions across the nation, in advance from the 2025 academic year.
In the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to get delight in acquiring artisan expertise as they provide good entrepreneurship opportunities.
"I am very encouraged by what I'm seeing at TVET colleges, I believe they are the future of this country. TVETs are producing artisans with much needed skills [and] also offer opportunities for learners to acquire future skills, such as robotics, AI [Artificial intelligence], and coding," Gondwe said.
At the second part of the visit, students at CPUT expressed considerations about student residences together with other amenities. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to operate with coastal tvet college the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily resolve the determined troubles.
The Deputy Minister’s visit to the Western Cape, follows her recent visit to higher education institutions in the Free State where she visited Goldfields TVET College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
In the visits, the Deputy website Minister has been accompanied by vital senior officers from Higher Education and Training, and the National Student Financial Aid Scheme (NSFAS).
The Deputy Minister’s dedicated Help Desk has also formed part of the delegation, assisting with all higher education related queries on each visit.
The problem of funding and administrative issues faced via the NSFAS was during the spotlight over the Free State leg with the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that student allowances are paid on time here with no delays. Delays cause serious challenges for learners; learners need allowances to eat and to buy hygiene products. get more info This is important for their sense of wellbeing and dignity," Gondwe said.
Gondwe embarked on the state of readiness visits following a plan of action, announced by Higher Education and Training, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane at the special meeting of the Post Education sedibeng tvet college and Training sector held in January 2025, to establish the state of readiness for the 2025 academic year.
The Deputy Minister's oversight is expected to continue in other provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za