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 alternative for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was talking during an oversight visit on the post-school education and training (PSET) institutions during the Western Cape this 7 days.
Gondwe explained the TVET colleges as vital for job creation and youth skills development inside the country.
The Deputy Minister frequented the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and also the Cape Peninsula {University of Technology (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits directed at evaluating the state of readiness of higher education institutions across the nation, forward with the 2025 academic year.
In the course of the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to acquire pride in buying artisan capabilities as they offer 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 fears about student residences and also other amenities. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to operate with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily resolve the recognized concerns.
The Deputy Minister’s visit to the Western Cape, follows her recent visit to higher education institutions in the Free State where website she visited Goldfields TVET College and the Central University of Technology (CUT), at the Welkom campus.
Through the visits, the Deputy Minister is accompanied by essential senior officers from Higher Education and here 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 worries confronted from the NSFAS was inside the spotlight over 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 click here following a plan of action, announced by Higher Education and Training, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane at the special meeting of the Post Education tvet colleges open 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 website West higher education institutions being the next on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za