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 as being a beneficial and practical substitute for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was speaking during an oversight visit into the post-school education and education (PSET) establishments while in the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as critical for job creation and youth skills development in the region.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and also the Cape Peninsula {University of Technologies (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits aimed toward examining the point out of readiness of higher education institutions across the country, forward with the 2025 educational year.
During the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to take pride in obtaining artisan capabilities as they provide wonderful entrepreneurship prospects.
"I'm 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," more info Gondwe said.
At the second part of the visit, college students at CPUT expressed problems about student residences and also other services. The Deputy Minister directed the tvet college courses without matric institution to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily solve the recognized problems.
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.
Throughout the visits, the Deputy Minister has been accompanied by key 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 more info education related queries on each visit.
The issue of funding and administrative worries faced by the NSFAS was during the spotlight through the Free State leg of the visits.
"NSFAS needs to get its act together, in order to ensure that student allowances are paid on time with no delays. check here Delays cause serious challenges for learners; learners need allowances to eat and to buy hygiene products. This is important lephalale tvet college 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 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