5th February 2025
Higher Education and Training Deputy Minister, Dr Mimmy Gondwe, has inspired learners to look at the Technical Vocational Education and Training (TVET) colleges being a worthwhile and practical option for advancing their occupations.
The Deputy Minister was talking in the course of an oversight visit into the post-school education and instruction (PSET) establishments during the Western Cape this week.
Gondwe described the TVET colleges as vital for job creation and youth skills development from the state.
The Deputy Minister visited the West Coast College Vredenburg Campus, and also the Cape Peninsula {University of Technologies (CPUT) Bellville Campus in Cape Town.
Gondwe's visits geared toward evaluating the condition of readiness of increased education institutions across the nation, in advance of your 2025 educational year.
Through the visit at West Coast College, she encouraged learners to get delight in getting artisan capabilities as they provide wonderful entrepreneurship chances.
"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 concerns about college student residences and various amenities. The Deputy Minister directed the establishment to work with the Student Representative Council (SRC), to speedily take care of website the identified issues.
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.
During the visits, the Deputy 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 issue of funding and administrative challenges confronted with the NSFAS was within the spotlight during 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 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 get more info visits following a plan of action, announced by Higher Education and Training, Dr Nobuhle Nkabane at the thekwini tvet college 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 website oversight is expected to continue in other provinces, with North West higher education institutions being the next here on the list.
– SAnews.gov.za