5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has encouraged learners to look at the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges like a important and viable choice for advancing their professions.
The Deputy Minister was talking for the duration of an oversight visit to the post-school education and instruction (PSET) establishments during the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as vital for job creation and youth skills development while in the state.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and the Cape Peninsula {University of Know-how (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits directed at examining the point out of readiness of better education institutions across the nation, forward of the 2025 educational year.
In the course of the visit at West Coast College, she inspired learners to acquire delight in buying artisan abilities as they supply good entrepreneurship options.
"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," Gondwe said.
At the second part of the visit, college students at CPUT expressed fears about student residences along with get more info other facilities. The Deputy Minister directed the institution to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily solve the identified challenges.
The Deputy Minister’s visit to the Western Cape, follows her recent visit to website higher education institutions in the Free State where she visited Goldfields TVET College and the Central University coastal tvet college of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
In the visits, the Deputy Minister has been accompanied by key senior website officials 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 problems faced by the NSFAS was from the spotlight in the course of 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. Delays cause serious challenges for learners; learners need allowances to eat and to buy hygiene products. 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 and Training sector held in January 2025, to establish the state of readiness for the 2025 academic year.
The Deputy Minister's oversight tvet college courses is expected to continue in other provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za